KARACHI, Feb 23: An additional district and sessions court of South acquitted on Thursday two men of fratricide. The court also acquitted five other co-accused in the case.
Judge Shahid Shafiq exonerated Abdul Malick and Abdul Latif, sons of Noor Mohammed Arian, from the charge of killing their real brother, Abdur Razzak, as the prosecution failed to prove its case “beyond the shadow of any reasonable doubt”.
The victim was one of the owners of New Chishtian Transport Company. He was shot and fatally wounded around 2pm on March 13, 2002 at his Mauripur office. His manager, Yousuf Ali, was also injured in the incident.
The Kalri police registered a case against unknown bandits on the complaint of injured manager. However, later victim’s widow moved to the Supreme Court for the registration of an FIR against his brothers-in-law and some employees of her husband.
Subsequently, the Kalri police registered another FIR against victim’s brothers Abdul Malick, Abdul Latif and Abdul Khaliq and four employees of the transport company, Yousuf Ali, Saifur Rehman, Akbar Ali, Zia ur Rehman and Siddique.
Malick, Latif and the five employees, represented by Maula Bux Bhatti, obtained pre-arrest bail, while Abdul Khaliq remained untraceable and was later declared absconder. However, Malick, Latif and manager Yousuf Ali were arrested on March 18, 2005 when the court rejected to confirm their interim bail.
The police filed second charge-sheet against the accused and showed Abdul Khaliq as an absconding accused.
The prosecution examined in all 13 witnesses, including Anver Begum, against them. The prosecution witnesses also included two eye-witnesses – a truck driver and a tea vendor – who claimed to have seen Abdul Malick and Abdul Latif coming out of the victim’s office after the shooting incident.
However, the court did not rely upon the evidence of the PW as both the brothers took the plea of alibi. Even the complainant woman admitted that Abdul Malik was already in Chishtian when she took the body there.
CONSULATE BLAST CASE: An anti-terrorism court adjourned the hearing of the US Consulate bomb blast case against accused Naveedul Hassan after recording the statement of the last prosecution witness.
The court, which had earlier convicted the chief and the general secretary of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi, fixed Feb 25 for recording the statement of the accused.
