HYDERABAD, Jan 3: The police have released three businessmen, who were detained in connection with the Asif Ramzi after being held for interrogation for over a week.

Asif Ramzi is believed to have died in an explosion in Karachi on Dec 19, 2002.

The three businessmen were released after being given clearance by the Karachi police.

The police had picked-up Akhlaq Ahmed, the proprietor of Akhlaq Drug Agency, after the Karachi police had found a national identity card bearing the name of Akhlaq Ahmed from the debris of the house in Allah Wallah Town following the explosion.

The Karachi police told Hyderabad police after seeing residential address of Paretabad of Akhlaq. Subsequently, Akhlaq was picked-up for interrogation on December 27.

On the basis of Akhlaq’s interrogation, the police had also picked up Mohammad Qasim, 50, son of Khuda Bakhsh Chundrigar, residing near Karbala Dadan Shah.

He was also associated with estate agency business.

Thereafter, the police had picked up Shahabuddin, 60, son of Shamsuddin, associated with the business of Zari, from Latifabad as he had purchased a flat belonging to the mother of Akhlaq in Kharadar, Karachi through Qasim.

Shahabuddin, who also runs his business in Karachi, had purchased the flat from Akhlaq for Rs 368,000.

On Dec 30, an inspector of the Karachi police had arrived in Hyderabad and visited the house of Akhlaq, pretending himself to be a friend of Akhlaq.

There he met with Mohammad Hussain and Javed Akhtar, the elder brother and paternal uncle of Akhlaq respectively.

They informed him that Akhlaq was picked up by police on Dec 27.

The inspector was told that the family was associated with the pharmaceutical business for the past 25 to 30 years and had nothing to do with any religious party.

The police official then visited Akhlaq Drug Agency, located in Chotki Ghitti Traders, to verify facts.

He obtained information from people about Akhlaq’s character and got positive reports about him.

Following permission from the DPO, Investigation, Pir Fareed Jan Sarhandi, the police official interrogated Akhlaq, Shahabuddin and Qasim.

He informed the DPO, Investigation, Karachi, Manzoor Mughal and his superiors that all the three detainees were not required in the case and the NIC, found from the debris was a fake.

The police officials also took away the fresh photographs of Akhlaq and presented it to Abdullah, the proprietor of Chawla estate agency in Korangi, Karachi, but the latter denied ever having seen him.

Akhlaq’s younger brother, Adnan, also confirmed that he had been released by the police.

Akhlaq’s address on the NIC was correct but his photo was not genuine because the forged NIC did not contain the marks of identification contained in the original NIC, while the stamp of the assistant director, registration, was also found to have been a fake.