August 30, 2008	Saturday	Sha'aban 27, 1429

KARACHI, Aug 29: Judicial Magistrate (South) Ashraf Hussain on Friday extended physical remand of three suspects of a bank robbery case till Sept 2. He ordered medical examination of one of the suspects, Noor Zali, and asked the investigation officer of the case to submit the report on the next date of hearing.

Noor Zali, father of the prime suspect, Shah Mohammad, had complained to the magistrate through an application that police had subjected him to torture during the interrogation process. The other two suspects are Chindar Wali and Gul Hussain. According to the prosecution, Shah Mohammad, Chindar Wali and Gul Hussain were deployed at the Habib bank’s Mansfield Street branch when the robbery took place. It alleged that the security guards were involved in the robbery of cash, savings certificates and other valuables worth millions of rupees from the lockers of the branch.

A gang equipped with gas cutters had made its way into the branch in Saddar area in the limits of the Preedy police station and broke open the lockers with the equipment in the small hours of Aug 15. While the gang fled the scene, Shah Mohammad also disappeared after leaving behind his “eyewitness account” of the robbery written on a paper.

Police arrested Chindar Wali and Gul Hussain on Aug 21 but Shah Mohammad is still at large. The police, however, took Shah Mohammad’s father, Noor Zali, in custody for interrogation, saying that his son was the prime suspect in the case.

Justice Nizam murder case

A district and sessions judge on Friday adjourned till Sept 15 the hearing of justice Nazim murder case.

The counsel of Bilal Shaikh, one of the accused in the case, submitted an application to the judge requesting that the absence of his client be condoned due to the unavoidable preoccupation in Islamabad.

Asif Ali Zardari, Akhtar Javed Pirzada, Bilal Shaikh and Babar Sindhu were nominated in the case pertaining to an attack in which Justice Nizam Ahmed of the Sindh High Court and his son Nadeem Ahmed, a lawyer, were killed on June 10, 1996. The victims were traveling in a car when it was ambushed in front of their PECHS residence. Group Capt (retd) Sikandar, brother-in-law of Justice Nizam Ahmed, had lodged an FIR (No.357/96) at the Ferozabad police station.

According to the charge-sheet, a dispute over a priced piece of land near the Awami Markaz on Sharea Faisal had led to the attack on the judge. It was stated that Justice Nizam had opposed its commercialisation and illegal allotment.

The Sindh High Court has already acquitted Asif Ali Zardari in the case while Bilal Shaikh and Babar Sindhu have filed their acquittal pleas under Section 249-A of CrPC.

Drug-peddler convicted

A judicial magistrate awarded one-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs1,000 to a drug-peddler. The convict, Rahim Dil, was found guilty of possessing five grams of heroin.