KARACHI, Jan 9: Two eyewitnesses picked out three suspects during an identification parade held before the court of a judicial magistrate in the Shahzeb murder case on Wednesday.

Nawab Siraj Ali Talpur, his younger brother Nawab Sajjad Ali Talpur and their house servant Ghulam Murtaza Lashari have been booked and arrested for allegedly killing 20-year-old Shahzeb in the Defence Housing Authority area on Dec 24.

The three suspects were brought to the city courts with their faces covered amid strict security.

They were produced before the court of a judicial magistrate for the identification parade.

Judicial Magistrate (south) Waqar Ahmed Soomro conducted the identification parade after completing legal formalities.

The suspects were lined up along with dummies in the courtroom and then the magistrate called the witnesses to identify them.

Court sources and the investigation officer of the case said that both witnesses picked out the three suspects from among the dummies and assigned their roles in the commissioning of the offence during the identification parade.

They said that the witnesses said that suspect Siraj along with absconding suspect Shahrukh Jatoi had opened fire on Shahzeb, while the remaining two suspects asked him to shoot the victim again since they thought he was still alive.

Reporters were not allowed to witness the identification parade.

The memo of identification parade was also sealed till the evidence of magistrate before a trial court.

According to the prosecution, the victim had an alteration with the suspects since they had tried to tease his sister and later the issue was settled by some elders, but prime suspect Shahrukh Jatoi, Siraj, Sajjad and their accomplices killed the victim by opening fire on the night of Dec 24.

Initially, the case (FIR 591/12) was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 109 (abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on a complaint of deceased’s father Aurangzeb, who is a deputy superintendent of police, at the Darakhshan police station. However, during the investigation, Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modestly) of the PPC and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 were incorporated in the FIR.

Shahrukh Jatoi and his father Sikandar Ali Jatoi are the absconders in the case and an anti-terrorism court issued non-bailable warrants for their arrest a few days ago.

The Supreme Court has also taken suo motu notice of Shahzeb’s murder.

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