KARACHI: Deploring poor investigation of police, a judicial magistrate on Wednesday ruled that a case pertaining to the murder of four people, including a child, fell within the ambit of the anti-terror law.

The bullet-riddled bodies of Khurram, Noor Khan, Shado and minor boy Anwar were found lying in the bushes near Arib Goth in the area adjoining Balochistan border on June 23.

The investigating officer, Rana Latif, submitted an interim investigation report in which he stated that nine suspects Mohammad Ramazan, Abdul Ghani, Abdul Rashid, Rais Ghulam Rasool, Rais Abdul Sher, Soomar, Abdul Ghafoor, Mohammad Hanif and Gul Hassan were released under Section 497 of the criminal procedure code for what he described as “lack of evidence”.

However, the public prosecutor in his scrutiny note said that the case was to be tried in an anti-terrorism court since the deceased were murdered with the audacity that created fear and insecurity among the people.

The judicial magistrate (west), Sohail Ahmed Mashori, in his order said that the relatives of the deceased appeared during arguments and vehemently opposed the release of the suspects and contended that the IO was bent upon spoiling their case for “obvious reasons”.

While deploring the manner in which the investigation of the case was carried out, the court observed that a perfunctory investigation had so far been conducted in the case since first IO Arshad Tanoli released suspect Ramazan regardless of the fact that a mobile phone of a deceased was found in his possession while the recovery of such a phone was not shown by the present IO in the interim investigation report.

The court ruled that the offence created helplessness and insecurity among the people of the locality since the victims were kidnapped and detained before being killed and it clearly fell within the ambit of Sections 6 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

The magistrate directed the IO to submit investigation report before an anti-terrorism court and asked the police high-ups to take necessary action over poor investigation of the case.

A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the state at the Mochko police station.

Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court on Wednesday remanded two suspects nominated in the murder case of a police officer in police custody.

Police said that Irfanullah and Amanullah were booked for allegedly killing the station house officer of the Preedy police station, Inspector Syed Ghazanfar Ali Kazmi who was murdered near Anklesaria Hospital when he was going in his car in Garden police headquarters on Aug 13.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014