September 25, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 24, 1429

KARACHI, Sept 24: An anti-terrorism court recorded the testimony of a judicial magistrate in a kidnap and murder case on Wednesday.

Judge Abdul Ghafoor Memon of the ATC-II is conducting the trial.

Judicial Magistrate Khadim Hussein Chand appeared in court and deposed that under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code he recorded the statements of the three accused, Shahzad, Babar and Ms Shadab, who had confessed to kill Mohsin.

The former investigation officer, Mohammad Fayyaz, who had submitted the charge-sheet in court, was cross-examined by the defence counsel, Mushtaq Ahmed, on Wednesday.

According to the prosecution, the accused, Shahzad, Babar and Ms Shadab, kidnapped Mohsin, an uncle of Ms Shadab, in the Super Market police limits on Oct 23, 2007. They settled the ransom with the victim’s family and later collected Rs1 million from them. However, instead of releasing him they killed the captive. The body was later found and the accused were arrested on Feb 2, 2008. A case was registered under Sections 365 and 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Super Market police station on the complain of Syed Zafar Ali, a brother of the deceased.

Later, the judge adjourned the case hearing till Sept 26.

Bail plea rejected

The Anti-Terrorism Court-I, meanwhile, rejected a bail application of a woman accused in a case pertaining to the kidnapping of an eight-year-old boy for ransom.

The judge pronounced the order after recording arguments from both sides on the bail application.

The suspect, Naila, through her counsel moved a bail application in the ATC-I, stating that she had no role in the kidnap of the boy and that the main suspect had just handed over the kidnapped boy to her.

Adnan Ahmed Khan and Naila have been charged with kidnapping an eight-year-old boy, Arsalan, on August 13 from the limits of the Sachal police station. The prosecution said that the accused demanded Rs1 million from the family of the victim for his release. However, the victim’s family members reported the matter to the area police.

Subsequently, a team of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) in coordination with the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) conducted a raid on a house on September 15 in Gulzar-i-Hijri area, arrested the couple and recovered the kidnapped child.

During the initial interrogation, the couple told the police that they were fond of each other but lacked the means to tie the knot and due to that reason they planned the kidnapping to overcome their financial problem.

A case against the suspects was registered under Section 365-A of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the ATA at the Sachal police.