September 04, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 3, 1429

KARACHI, Sept 3: A civil judge and judicial magistrate, east, on Wednesday remanded two suspects in police custody till Sept 8 in a kidnap-cum-rape case.

The police arrested the owner of a restaurant, and his associate on Sept 2 for allegedly kidnapping a woman, stated to be a stage artiste, in the Ferozabad police limits on Aug 31 and taking her to a house in PECHS, where the suspects reportedly raped her.

Meanwhile, an accountability court again deferred the indictment of a deputy inspector-general (DIG) of the Sindh police and others till Sept 10 in a reference pertaining to a land scam as one of the accused fell sick.

On Dec 4, 2007, the NAB, Sindh, had arrested DIG Altaf Hussain Bhatti for misusing his authority to acquire more than 500 acres of government land in Thatta district.

The judge of accountability court I, Syed Aley Maqbool Rizvi, on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of the reference due to the sudden illness of an accused during the indictment process. The indictment was also deferred on the pervious two hearings (Aug 2 and July 16) when the judge was on leave.

A reference (No 59/2007) was filed against him by NAB accusing the DIG of illegally transferring pieces of land under fake names and later on getting them allotted to himself, his family members and other relatives. Ali Ahmed Bhatti, Usman Memon, Noor Ali, Mohammad Hussain, Usman G. Memon, Hanni Ram and Thain are co-accused in the case while three other accused in the same case have died.

NBWs issued

An additional district and sessions judge issued on Wednesday non-bailable warrants for the arrest of a police officer and four other witnesses in a kidnap and murder case registered against Mohajir Qaumi Movement chief Afaq Ahmed.

The judge, Abdul Razzaq, who is conducting the trial in the Judical Complex (Central Prison), directed the police to arrest police inspector Faqir Mohammad Jatoi, Attaullah, Salman, Rashid and Jameel, and produce them in court on Sept 25.

Earlier, the court had summoned the witnesses a number of times. However, they did not turn up to testify. Defence counsel Suhail Anjum requested the court to issue non-bailable arrest warrants for the witnesses, arguing that they were not complying with the court’s order.

Afaq Ahmed and their associates were charged with kidnapping Mohammed Farooq, Mohammad Tahir, Salman and M. Anwar, workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, in the limits of the Landhi police station on June 19, 1992. Later, they allegedly killed Mohammad Farooq.

The police registered a case (FIR 102/92) under Sections 147, 148, 149, 324, 364, 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Ismail Quershi.

Afreen Baig case

The additional district and sessions judge, south, Sultan Mohammad Awan, adjourned on Wednesday the hearing of the murder case of TV producer Afreen Baig till Sept 20 due to the absence of witnesses.

The judge, who is conducting the trial inside the Central Prison, had directed the police on the pervious hearing to produce two witnesses, Sonia and Nazim, in the court. However, the police informed the judge that both witnesses were untraceable.

According to the prosecution, Afreen Baig, a TV artiste and producer, was killed in her DHA residence in October 2004 allegedly by her driver, Mohammad Bux Umrani, and his wife, Zahida. Her husband Farooq Mengal is alleged to have masterminded the murder of the TV artiste. The driver of the victim and his wife, who was a maid at Mengal’s house, are co-accused in the case.

Mohammad Bux Umrani has given his confessional statement before a judicial magistrate and stated that he had killed the victim at the behest of her husband, Farooq Mengal, as he suspected an illicit relationship of Afreen with her former husband, Masjood.

The court declared Zahida absconder in the case.