KARACHI, Feb 25: Two eye-witnesses identified on Saturday before an anti-terrorism court two of the three accused in the murder and kidnapping for ransom case of a young man, whose body was recovered in Hyderabad.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-3 fixed Feb 28 for the next hearing after special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum examined eye-witnesses Mohammed Jawaid, a bangles dealer, and Mohammed Naeem, a resident of Hyderabad.
Abdul Asif, Mohammed Atif and Rizwan Khan, all of them in their early twenties, were charged with the kidnapping and murder of 21-year-old Muneebul Haq, a resident of Gulshan-i-Maimar.
According to prosecution, Atif was the victim’s friend, also living in the same vicinity. On Oct 10, 2005, he along with his accomplices kidnapped Muneeb and took him to Hyderabad.
The kidnappers contacted the victim’s father, Qazi Mashhudul Haq, a bank manager, from victim’s cellular phone and they initially demanded Rs1 million for his release. Next day, the kidnappers took the young victim to a graveyard in Hyderabad and slaughtered him.
Accused Asif, however, kept on calling the victim’s father and agreed to accept Rs200,000 as ransom. However, the kidnappers did not turn up to receive the money at the designated place.
The family, which had initially reported the missing of the victim on Oct 12 with the Surjani police, learnt about Muneeb’s killing in Hyderabad through newspapers on Oct 17.
Later on Oct 23, the shattered family reported the kidnapping matter to the police and got an FIR lodged against unknown culprits.
The investigation was assigned to the Anti-violent Crime Cell, which tracked down accused Asif with the help of record of the victim’s phone. Asif was arrested on Oct 25 in the morning and his two alleged accomplices were arrested in the evening in Hyderabad on a lead given by him. The police also seized the knife, used in the killing of the victim, from the graveyard.
PW Mohammad Jawaid, a resident of Karachi, submitted before the court that he had gone to Hyderabad for purchasing bangles. He said on Oct 11 he went to offer Fateha at a shrine in the graveyard where he saw Atif and Rizwan killing the victim.
He said he had hidden himself behind a grave and when the two accused left, he went close to the victim and found him in a pool of blood.
The prosecution witness said later he went to the B Section police station, Latifabad, and gave his statement to ASI Nasir regarding the incident. He said later on Oct 29, he identified the two accused before a judicial magistrate in Karachi.
PW Mohammed Naeem, a resident of Latifabad, stated that Atif was his former neighbour. He stated that the accused lived in his vicinity for 15 years and later he shifted to Karachi some seven years ago.
The witness stated that on Oct 10, accused Atif and Rizwan, along with their victim came to his house. He said they left early in the morning.
Defence counsel Khawaja Naveed, Nasir Awan and Abbas Naqvi also cross-examined the prosecution witnesses.
RANSOM CASE: Prosectuion in a kidnapping for ransom case against three accused concluded its evidence.
Judge Syed Saghir Hussain Zaidi of the ATC-3 fixed Feb 28 for recording the statement of the accused after special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa examined the investigation officer Sub-inspector Sami Khan as the last prosecution witness.
