November 27, 2008	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 28, 1429

Mohammad Tufail Shah, 26, had defaulted on a loan and had committed suicide on April 27 by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his house in New Karachi, reportedly after being pressured by the bank’s recovery team.

The accused, Sheikh Mohammad Atif, denied the charges and opted to contest the case. The court adjourned the hearing till Dec 17 and asked the prosecution witnesses to appear in court for deposition on the date of hearing.

The prosecution claimed that the loan recovery team headed by the accused had visited twice the house of Tufail Shah the same day the latter committed suicide.

He said members of the team subjected the victim to threats and also insulted his mother and sister, which caused him immense stress and caused him to commit suicide.

A case (FIR No.87/08) under sections 322, 316, 504 and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code was registered at the New Karachi police station on the complaint of the deceased’s mother. Police arrested Sheikh Mohammad Atif on May 2.

Students’ clash case

A judicial magistrate ordered release of six students, arrested on Monday for indulging in a clash, against a surety bond of Rs30, 000 each.

The six students of a government college were arrested in the limits of Risala police station following a clash between two students groups. An FIR was lodged against them. The suspects were earlier produced before the magistrate, who maintained that the case fell in the purview of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Subsequently, they were produced before the administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts, Karachi, who sent the remand back to the judicial magistrate, ruling that the case did not fall in the purview of the ATA.

Women’s burial case

A judicial magistrate, Malir, on Wednesday sent a suspect into police custody on two-day transit remand.

The suspect, Mukhtar Ahmed Umrani, is facing charges of burying two women alive in Nasirabad district, Balochistan.

Police had arrested him while he was standing at a bus stand at Sohrab Goth on Tuesday.

Two women were allegedly buried alive in the Baba Kot area of Nasirabad district some two months ago and a case (FIR No.9/08) was registered under sections 302, 202, 109, 147, 148, 149/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code read with section 7 of Anti-terrorism Act.

The court has directed the police to produce the suspect before the relevant court in two days.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate, Malir, on a directive of a district and sessions judge, conducted a raid on the office of a presiding officer of the excise police in Port Qasim area on Wednesday and recovered a man held there in illegal confinement.

The man, Mumtaz Baloch, was reportedly kept in detention in the office for several days without any FIR having been registered against him.

Earlier, the victim’s father, Qadir Baloch, filed an application in the court of the district and sessions judge, Malir, against the illegal detention.

The judge directed the presiding officer concerned to appear in a court on Thursday.