A Frontier Corps sepoy, Shadiullah, who was accused of killing a 25-year-old student in front of his parents in Turbat has been sentenced to death by a local court in Balochistan.

During the hearing of the case, Turbat District and Sessions Judge Rafiq Langau decided the case in the presence of Shadiullah and Hayat’s brother Murad Baloch and sentenced the accused to death under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The family had recognised Shadiullah during the identification parade while the FC soldier also confessed to the killing.

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Shadiullah had shot dead Hayat Baloch — a BS student at the University of Karachi, in Aug 2020 following a bomb blast in the area in which three soldiers were wounded. Subsequently, the FC officials picked Hayat up — who was helping his parents at their date orchard — and tortured him before shooting him dead as his family pleaded for mercy.

It was reported that Hayat, who was in Turbat because his university was closed due to the COVID pandemic, had shot more than eight times.

The killing had resulted in outrage on social media, with people, including lawmakers, demanding justice for the slain youth.

After the murder, an inquiry was conducted by the paramilitary force. An internal investigation by the Frontier Corps found that the accused FC man “reacted in haste”, Turbat SSP had told media. After this inquiry, Shadiullah was handed over to the police for further investigation in the case.