KARACHI, Dec 19: A division bench of the Sindh High Court issued on Thursday bailable warrants for the arrest of Salim Memon in state’s appeal against his acquittal in a kidnapping for ransom case by the trial court.

The bench comprised Justice Wahid Bux Brohi and Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery.

Salim Memon was acquitted by the trial court on July 25 of a charge of kidnapping a businessman, Rafiq Memon, and his brother Ilyas Memon.

The other accused, Dr Khalid Moin, former deputy medical superintendent of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Salim Khan Tanoli, former protocol officer at the Chief Minister’s House, Salimuddin and Muhammad Altaf Hussain, were sentenced to life imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, the accused kidnapped Rafiq Memon and his brother Ilyas in the police limits of Jamshed Quarters and demanded ransom from their family.

They released Rafiq’s brother Ilyas for arranging the ransom amount and later set Rafiq Memon free while giving threat to arrange a ransom of Rs1.5 million.

The accused were arrested in another kidnapping case, where Rafiq identified them and they confessed the crime and admitted, in the presence of two DSPs, that they kidnapped him on the instruction of Salim Memon.

Justice Shabbir Ahmed of the Sindh High Court, who is also the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts for Karachi division, while accepting the challan of accused Farhan and Shahzad in the kidnapping of one-and-a-half-year old girl, Isha, referred the case to the ATC-III.

The accused were charged with kidnapping the girl on Nov 28 in Karachi and demanding Rs50,000 from her family as ransom. — PPI