19 May 2004	Wednesday	28 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, May 18: An anti-terrorism court acquitted on Tuesday a worker of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi in a case pertaining to a hand-grenade attack on a police van.

Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi of the ATC-1 exonerated Shaikh Ahmed Daniyal from the charge while giving him benefit of doubt. According to prosecution, a police mobile van of the Jamshed Quarters PS was carrying its SHO Inspector Chaudhry Liaquat Ali, ASI Kamran, head constable Salim Shah and Mohammed Suleman, constables Hussain Bux and Mohammed Farooq Zaman on Oct 23, 2001.

As the van reached near Karsaz on the main Sharea Faisal around 12:25am, pillion-rider of a motorcycle lobbed a hand-grenade which exploded in the van, causing injuries to constables Farooq and Salim.

According to prosecution, the Harkat worker, arrested on July 16, 2002, during interrogation disclosed his involvement in the grenade attack on the mobile van.

The prosecution, represented by Abdul Waheed Khan, examined in all eight prosecution witnesses, who included two of the four injured cops and an expert from the bomb disposal unit.

The main piece of the evidence against the Harkat man was the identification parade during which the injured cops identified him as the person who had lobbed the grenade.

They also deposed before the court that their mobile was at the speed of 45 km per hour when the culprits on a speeding bike lobbed the explosive device. The bomb disposal expert deposed before the court that the grenade exploded within four seconds after its pin was pulled.

The court, however, observed that it was not humanly impossible to recognize a person in a span of four seconds in the darkness of night, especially when the person is not previously known to those who claimed to have identified him.

The Harkat activist is still facing charges of another grenade attack on a mobile and murder of two policemen. Earlier, he was sentenced to suffer a 14-year term in a bomb blast case by the ATC-2.

He was found guilty of having planted two explosives devices in a building, where the members of the Ismaili community were holding the function of their spiritual leader. One of the devices exploded, injuring a few people and damaging some motorcycles.

The testimony of the judicial magistrate, who had conducted the identification parade, and the depositions of the two eye-witnesses - a rickshaw driver and a taxi driver - were the major pieces of the evidence, which led to the conviction.