July 24, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 20, 1429

KARACHI, July 23: The additional district and sessions judge, South, Hafeeza Usman, on Wednesday directed the SHO of Defence police station to record the statement of Kamran Tessori’s family and lodge an FIR against those responsible for his alleged kidnapping and detention.

The application, moved by Zaitoon Begum, grandmother of Kamran Khan Tessori, says members of her family are being threatened by the police and alleges that the police kidnapped Kamran on June 15 from Defence and detained him in Jackson police station.

The application adds that Gul Mohammad Lat, stated to be a secretary to the chief minister of Sindh, had allegedly demanded a ransom of Rs30 million for Mr Tessori’s release and asked him to hand over the amount to Iqbal Masaliwala. They threatened to kill Kamran in a fake encounter in case of non-payment of the ransom money, it adds.

The application further says that the family of Kamran Tessori had approached the Jackson police station to lodge an FIR against the accused; however, the police refused to do so.

The applicant requests the court to direct the police station concerned to register an FIR against those persons involved in the kidnapping and detention of Kamran Tessori.

Meanwhile, the town police officers of Saddar, Keamari and Clifton submitted their comments in the Sindh High Court on the Tessori family’s petition alleging kidnapping of Kamran Khan Tessori and harassment of other members of the family.

The officers denied the allegations that any member of the family was kidnapped under their watch or that the family’s residential or business premises were put under surveillance or that they were being harassed. The comments did not deal with the petitioner’s allegation against harassment and extortion by ‘politically motivated’ people for the Tessoris’ links with the previous regime.

The bench comprising Justice Qaiser Iqbal and Khwaja Naveed adjourned further hearing for comments by other respondents, including the home department and the anti-corruption establishment, and extended the court’s protection order till that date.

Advocates M. Ashraff Kazi and Habibur Rehman Dashti appeared for petitioner Zaitoon Begum.

Order reserved

The judge of the special anti-corruption court Karachi, Syed Gul Munir Shah, on Wednesday recorded arguments from both sides on a bail application of an administrator of the market committee of the New Sabzi Mandi, G.N. Chakrani, in a corruption case and reserved the order till July 25.

G.N. Chakrani, along with the secretary of the market committee Saeed-ul-Hasan Zaidi, the director-general of the Sindh government’s agriculture extension Naeem Ahmed Korejo and Ashiq Hussein, a section officer of the PMP, agriculture department, government of Sindh, were facing charges in the land scam that involved millions of rupees.

On July 10, the court sent Mr Chakrani in jail custody following the dismissal of his pre-arrest bail application.

Drug smugglers sentenced

The judge of the special narcotics substance control court-II, Rubina Khan, on Wednesday awarded 30 months imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs0.1 million on a South African woman who was found guilty of smuggling drugs.

In case of non-payment of fine, the accused would have to undergo a one year additional imprisonment.

The accused was arrested in 2007 by a customs official at the Karachi airport and over two kilogrammes of heroin were recovered from her possession. A case (FIR 57/07) was registered against her under the Control of Narcotics Substance Act.

Meanwhile, the same court awarded 10 months in jail to a Nepalese national since he pleaded guilty for smuggling over 2kg heroin. The court also imposed a fine of Rs30,000 and in case of non-payment, the accused would spend an additional 45 days in jail.

The accused was arrested from Karachi airport by the customs in 2007.

Remanded

The civil judge and judicial magistrate, West, Syed Nadeem Hashmi, on Wednesday sent Shah Tareen into police custody on physical remand till July 30. Tareen was charged with kidnapping his two minor nieces after a Jirga decision. He was arrested following an application filed by the mother of the kidnapped girls for her daughters’ recovery.