KARACHI: ATC issues show cause to police: Four acquitted of arson charge
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 10: An anti-terrorism court acquitted on Saturday four workers of a religious party prosecuted for setting a minibus on fire during violence on the eve of an anti-war strike called by religious parties.
Judge Syed Zakir Husain of the ATC-1 acquitted accused Mohammed Nadeem, Shahid Khan, Khalid Mahmood and Imran Husain of the charge, and also issued show-cause notice to the SHO concerned and the investigation officer of the case for “negligence and wilful inefficiency on their part that damaged the interest of the state in the matter.”
Different religious parties, under the auspices of the Defence Council of Afghanistan and Pakistan — a group of 35 religious parties headed by Maulana Samiul Haq — had given a strike call for Sept 21 to express solidarity with the Taliban government and the Afghan people and against the threat of US attack on Afghanistan.
Initially, the case was registered against three unknown arsonists by the New Karachi police on the complaint of Mohammed Naseem, the driver of the burnt minibus of route W-11.
The investigation was conducted by sub-inspector Ahmed Bakhsh Langah, who committed gross negligence in the preparation of the case against the accused.
According to the memos, prepared by the IO, he had visited the place of occurrence on a lead given by the complainant and the accused were arrested in the presence of the complainant.
Complainant Naseem, however, deposed in the court, as a prosecution witness, that neither he had led police to the spot, nor were the accused arrested in his presence.
The complainant further deposed that even the FIR was not read over or explained to him before he signed it.
The IO also did not produce the accused before a judicial magistrate for identification parade, a common practice in the case of unnamed accused. “The matter shows that police attempted to let the case go unattended in point of evidence on false or fake excuse,” the judge observed.
He further observed: “The evidence and the material of the prosecution, including the statements of the investigation officer and those of the private witnesses (the driver and the conductor of the minibus), carry no substance lightening the burden of the prosecution as to the commission of the crime.”
“I am of the considered view that police have damaged the case for their own reasons. To elaborate this point a little bit more, it is pointed out that the FIR was registered against three persons, while police arrested four persons and challaned (charge sheeted) eight persons, including four absconders, with no details as to their parentage and whereabouts and without any positive incriminating material as well,” he observed.
MQM LEADER ACQUITTED: An additional district and sessions judge, East, Syed Kauser Ali Bukhari, acquitted Shoaib Bukhari, a former member of the Sindh assembly and a leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, in a murder case.
The judge acquitted Mr Bukhari of the charge of murder as the prosecution could not bring incriminating evidence against him.
The case, pertaining to the killing of Amjad Ali Khan alias Sardar Khan on August 8, 1994, was registered against Muttahida men by the Korangi police on the complaint of Ghulam Murtaza.
The court declared the party chief, Altaf Hussain, and the secretary- general, Dr Imran Farooq, absconding in the case.
SENTENCED: The special anti-narcotics judge, Ali Nawaz Pirzada, sentenced three Nigerian drug traffickers to five years’ rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs50,000 each.
The convicts - Ochristian Chukwu, Emeka Bar Tha Lomen and Oiffoing Peter Sunday — were arrested by the Anti-narcotics Force here at the airport in June July this year. They would have to undergo an additional one year’s RI if the failed to pay the fine.
The three men, arrested separately, had swallowed heroin stuffed into capsules.
Accused Chukwu was carrying 71 capsules (822 grams), Lomen 52 capsules (885 grams) and Sunday 77 capsules (956 grams).
ZARDARI: The accountability court, headed by Judge Aziz Memon, put off the hearing of a corruption reference against Hakim Ali Zardari, former MNA, to Nov 13.
The case pertained to acquisition of assets and property, including a house in France, through illegal means.
The prosecution closed its side after examining its last four witnesses, Imran Kazmi, Gohar ali, Muneeb Arslan and Mohammed Saleem, all officials of the income tax department.
The court will record the statement of accused Hakim Zardari on the next date of hearing.
