February 10, 2008	Sunday	Safar 02, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 9: Judicial Magistrate, West, Ghulam Yaseen Kolachi on Saturday remanded 11 Indian fishermen, apprehended by the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) on Thursday, into judicial custody till Feb 24.

The MSA had also detained the fishermen along with their two boats for fishing illegally in Pakistani waters. They were handed over to the Docks police and an FIR (No.25/08) was registered against them under the Section of 3/4 and 3/9 of the Fisheries Act.

Toxic waste case

District and Sessions Judge, West, Syed Zakir Hussain on Saturday adjourned till March 1 the hearing of a case against a factory owner and others charged with dumping highly toxic industrial waste in an open area in Site Town.

The court re-issued summons against the prosecution witnesses in the case asking them to record their statements on the next date of hearing. The witnesses were directed to appear in court on Saturday but they failed to comply with the order.

Complainant Dr Iqbal Saeed Khan (a former director of the Sindh Environment Protection Agency), Ashfaq Hussain (former deputy director of the same agency) and SI Syed Waqar Hussain have already recorded their statements.

According to the charge-sheet, about 17 children aged seven-ten were exposed to the toxic waste dumped on the open plot by the factory owner in March 2006.

While playing in the locality, the children came in contact with the chemical waste and sustained serious injuries. They were taken to the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) on March 15 and 17. Two of them succumbed to their injuries later.

One of the 15 injured children, Shiraz, was also present in the court during the hearing on Saturday.

The agency had lodged an FIR (No.181/07) at the Site police station under sections 322 and 286 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the accused, who were arrested soon after the incident and later released on bail.