KARACHI, Dec 8: An anti-terrorism court reserved on Thursday judgment in a kidnapping for ransom case against three accused, including the sons of a senior superintendent of police and a deputy controller of the Karachi Building Control Authority.
Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi of the ATC-1 fixed Dec 14 for the pronouncement of the verdict after hearing the final arguments from special public prosecutor Maula Bux Bhatti and defence counsel A. K. Memon.
Fida Hussain Khoso, son of SSP Nadir Khoso, Junaid Ansari, son of KBCA official Abdul Rehman Ansari, and Qurban Ali Khoso were prosecuted for kidnapping Mohammed Ali, a local builder, for ransom on June 24, 2002 in Clifton.
The builder, who was taken away from his office at gunpoint, was released on the payment of Rs700,000. He remained in the kidnappers’ captivity for 86 days.
The three kidnappers and their three accomplices had earlier been sentenced to death in February by Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 for kidnapping the son of a car dealer, who was released on the payment of Rs6.1 million as ransom in Manchester.
The gang of kidnappers was busted in mid-August last year after the delivery of the ransom and the subsequent release of Ahmed Naeem, who was kidnapped on June 11, 2004 near his Gizri residence. Naeem was released after 62 days.
A special team of the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee and Anti-violence Crime Cell investigated the cases against the sons of the high officials.
PRISONERS’ VAN CASE: Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 put off the hearing of the prisoners’ van firing case against five workers of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi after recording the statements of two prosecution witnesses.
The judge fixed Saturday for the next hearing after the deposition of Inspector Zahid Hussain, the then SHO of Nabi Bux police, and Sub-inspector Noor Sabir, who were also cross-examined by defence counsel Amir Mansoob Qureshi, M. A. Warsi and Ashraf Mughul.
The accused have been charged with killing a constable and an under-trial prisoner.
