A court has sentenced two accused persons to three years’ imprisonment in a gutka and mawa case. Judicial Magistrate (South) Nawab Khan Khaskheli found Akbar Ali and Abdul Ghafoor guilty of committing offence punishable under Section 8(i) of the Sindh Prohibition of Preparation, Manufacturing, Storage, Sale and Use of Gutka and Manpuri Act, 2019. He also ordered both convicts to pay a fine of Rs200,000 each or undergo additional six-months imprisonment on default.
According to state prosecutor Rizwana Mughal, on November 9, 2024, a police team out on patrol recovered 225 gutkha puries weighing 5 kilogrammes from accused Akbar and 150 mawa puries weighing 5.5 kilogrammes from accused Abdul Ghafoor near Mauripur Road within the jurisdiction of the Kalri police station.
She argued that the prosecution witnesses had fully supported the case and that the charge had been established against the accused, requesting the magistrate to punish the accused as per the law.
On the other hand, the defence counsel contended that the accused were innocent and had been falsely implicated in this case. He said that there were material contradictions and defects in the evidence of prosecution witnesses, therefore, case of prosecution became highly doubtful.
