KARACHI, Sept 22: More than 72 people were remanded in police custody by an anti-terrorism court and a judicial magistrate on Saturday in a number of cases of violence and arson during the rallies staged in protest against an anti-Islam film produced in the United States.

The police detained the suspects for allegedly torching cinemas, banks, police vans, attacking policemen, looting and destroying public and private properties during the rallies taken out on Friday within the jurisdiction of the Boat Basin, Nabi Bux, Civil Lines, Preedy Street and Kharadar police stations.

The investigating officers produced the suspects before the anti-terrorism court-III and sought their custody.

Replying to a query of the court over the jurisdiction issue, public prosecutor Abdul Maroof informed the court that Section 435 of the Pakistan Penal Code was compatible with Section 6 (2) (j) of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Judge in charge of the ATC-III Bashir Ahmed Khoso handed them over to the police on physical remand till Sept 25 and 26 and directed the IO to produce them on next hearings with progress reports.

The Boat Basin police had arrested 22 suspects, including Abdul Mateen, Abid, Saifullah, Haroon, Arshad, Tahir Akbar, Saddam Hussain, Bashir Ahmed, Riaz Khan, Kaleemullah, Ghulam Haider, Waliullah and Mohammad Rehman.

The Nabi Bux PS apprehended eight: Ghulam Yasin, Qasir Ahmed, Shakir, Mohammad Yasir, Naseer-ul-Haq, Rasheed-ul-Haq, Sajjad and Adnan, and the Preedy PS arrested 13, including Mohammad Younus, Raza, Mohammad Irfan, Akbar, Imtiaz, Mohammad Hussain and Nasir, for torching four cinemas on and near M. A. Jinnah Road.

The Civil Lines police detained Asad Baloch, Azeem, Saqib and Adnan for allegedly setting police vans on fire, rioting, robbery and attacking police near the PIDC traffic intersection.

Khurram, Ikram-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Umer Farooq Mohammad Iqbal and Mohammad Shafiq were among the 16 suspects arrested by the Kharadar police.

The cases (FIRs 475/12, 207/12, 86/12, 534/ 12 and 324/12) were registered at the Boat Basin, Nabi Bux, Civil Lines, Preedy and Kharadar police stations under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) 324 (attempted murder), 353 (criminal assault to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage etc) and 34 (common intention) of the PPC read with Section 7 of the ATA. Those arrested by the Civil Lines, Preedy and Kharadar police stations were also booked under Section 395 (dacoity) of the PPC.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate also remanded 12 suspects in police custody for three days. The police said a case (FIR 224/12) was lodged against them for damaging public and private property, rioting, attempt to set a liquor shop on fire and attacking police during the protests on Friday within the remit of the Defence police station.