KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Monday granted interim pre-arrest bail to three policemen in a kidnapping for ransom case till Wednesday.

The three suspects — former Aziz Bhatti SHO Ghulam Hussain Pirzado and constables Kamran Ali and Ghulam Abbas — along with their other accomplices have been booked for allegedly abducting Noor Mohammad, an Afghan national, for ransom in the Korangi Industrial Area in May.

The suspects, who were on protective bail from the high court, moved their pre-arrest bail applications before the trial court.

After a preliminary hearing, Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of the ATC-I granted them interim pre-arrest bail against a surety bond of Rs100,000 each till Sept 3.

The court also issued a notice to the public prosecutor for Wednesday.

According to the prosecution, on May 5 the victim was abducted when he was going to the airport and the kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs1 million for his release. He was released after a couple of weeks, it added.

A case was registered under Sections 365-A (kidnapping or abduction for extorting property, etc.) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on a complaint of an uncle of the victim.

Earlier, head constable Abdul Jabbar Abro, one of the suspects, had been granted post-arrest bail.

‘Lyari gangster’ remanded

Another ATC remanded a suspect in police custody for allegedly possessing explosive substance.

The police produced Shahzad, said to be affiliated with one of the several criminal gangs operating in Lyari, in court and sought his custody for questioning.

The judge in charge of the ATC-III, Mohammad Javed Alam, remanded the suspect in police custody for seven days. The police said that the suspect was arrested within the remit of the Baghdadi police station on Aug 31 and explosives were recovered from his possession.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2014