KARACHI, Oct 11: Sunni Tehrik leader Shahid Ghauri and two other party men were ordered to be released by the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts after the police submitted in its report that no evidence was found against the three suspects in an arson case.

The three ST men were arrested during a raid on their office, Markaz-e-Ahle-Sunnat, last Friday on the eve of a strike called by the Suuni Itehad Council against the decision of a Rawalpindi court that handed down death sentence to Mumtaz Qadri for killing former Punjab governor Salman Taseer.

Later, they along with five others were booked by the Mominabad police station in a case (FIR 366/2011) under Sections 426 (punishment for mischief) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code for setting two buses on fire and creating unrest in Orangi Town.

Section 7-A of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 was also inserted in the FIR by the police, who produced the suspects before the administrative judge of the ATCs, Justice Maqbool Baqar of the Sindh High Court, for obtaining physical custody of the ST men for interrogation and investigation.

While remanding the suspect in police custody for three days, the administrative judge also directed the investigation officer to get their identification parade done from a judicial magistrate on Oct 10.

Accordingly, the suspects were produced before a judicial magistrate for their identification parade, but the complainant and an eyewitness in the case did not identify the three suspects.

On Tuesday, the police submitted its report under Section 497 (2) (b) of the criminal procedure code before the administrative judge stating that no evidence was found against Shahid Ghauri, Mubin Qadri and Nadim Qadri.

Section 497-B of the CrPC authorises an SHO to release a suspect on bond and without any surety at any stage of investigations if no sufficient evidence is found against him.

The administrative judge ordered immediate release of the ST men if their custody was not required in any other criminal case.

Rangers DG, others issued notice A division bench headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam put on notice the home secretary, the director-general of the Rangers, the provincial and city police chiefs, the officer in charge of the Special Investigation Unit, the SP of Baldia Town and the SHO of the Saeedabad police station in a petition seeking whereabouts of a missing man.

Petitioner Jamil Ahmed submitted in his petition that Rangers personnel raided his house on Oct 4 during a search operation and took away his son, Ghulam Ghous, without stating any reasons.

He stated that he approached the area police to inquire about his missing son, but to no avail. He said that the police also refused to receive his application for the recovery of his son.

The petitioner prayed to the court to direct the respondents to produce his son in court and also place on record the detail of case, if any, against him.

The bench issued notices to the respondents, the advocate general and the deputy attorney general and put off the hearing to a date to be fixed by the court office after 10 days.