29 January 2004	Thursday	06 Zilhaj 1424

KARACHI, Jan 28: An anti-terrorism court recorded the statements of three accused, including the son of a senior superintendent of police, in a kidnapping for ransom case on Wednesday.

Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 fixed Jan 31 for the next hearing when defence witnesses would appear and record their statements. The case pertained to the kidnapping of a 20-year-old man, who remained captive for 52 days and was released after the payment of seven million rupees as ransom.

The accused - Asif Hussain Junejo, son of SSP Mumtaz Junejo; Alauddin Jenejo, son of Roshan Junejo (a town nazim from Sanghar); and Rustum Haider - submitted that they were innocent and the police had implicated them in this case.

The three accused were arrested on Nov 1, last year while five other accused - Natasha alias Sonia, Zeeshan alias Burger, Abu Sufiyan, Haji Mashooq Brohi, and Rafique Jatt, son of Dawood Jatt - were declared absconders. Syed Raza Zaidi was kidnapped on Aug 30, 2003 from Sea View. Special public prosecutor, Mazhar Qayyum, appeared for the state.