KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday ordered the release of a suspect in the Parveen Rehman murder case for want of evidence.

Bilal, alias Tension, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of the Orangi Pilot Project director and social activist, Ms Rehman.

According to the prosecution, Ms Rehman was gunned down by two men riding a motorcycle on Manghopir Road on March 13, 2013.

The suspect, Bilal, had already been sent to jail in other cases when the police formally arrested him in the philanthropist murder case in July. The police interrogated the suspect for around two weeks after the court remanded him in their custody. Later, he had been remanded in judicial custody.

In a report filed in the court, police investigating officer Fariduddin stated that during the course of investigation no concrete evidence was found against the suspect to link him with the alleged crime. The officer sought his release under Section 497(2) of the criminal procedure code.

According to Section 497(2) of the CrPC, a police officer or a court may release a suspect on bail or a bond without surety if it appears at any stage of investigation, inquiry or trial that there are no reasonable grounds for believing that the suspect has committed a non-bailable offence, but there are sufficient grounds for further inquiry into his guilt.

The judge of the anti-terrorism court-II allowed the investigation report and ordered the jail authorities to release the suspect if he was not wanted in any other criminal case.

A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Pirabad police station. Later Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 was incorporated in the case on a directive of the Supreme Court of Pakistan that also had ordered a judicial inquiry into the case by the judge of a district and sessions court.

The judicial inquiry report recommended that the murder be reinvestigated by an efficient, independent and honest police officer. It expressed dissatisfaction over the probe stating that the police investigators had not hesitated to manipulate key aspects of the investigation.

Qari Bilal, the man blamed for Ms Rehman murder, was allegedly killed in a shootout with police a day after the killing of the philanthropist. However, the inquiry report said the story of the mysterious encounter and recovery of a pistol did not inspire confidence. A police officer who claimed to have killed him in an encounter stated that the suspect had sustained multiple gunshot wounds but could not mention which parts of the body had been hit. Besides, none from the police side was wounded in the encounter, the report noted.

It also questioned a police claim that three accomplices of Qari Bilal had set fire to their car before they escaped. It observed that after the deadly shootout with the police in which their companion was killed, they could not afford to waste time in setting fire to the car.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2014