KARACHI, Feb 13: The Federal Investigation Agency on Wednesday filed an interim charge-sheet against the prime suspect in the Shahzeb murder case for allegedly using fraudulent means to escape from the country.

Investigation Officer Saeed Ahmed Memon of the FIA charge-sheeted three suspects — Shahrukh Jatoi, Muhammad Taha Hussain, a traffic assistant/check-in agent of the Gerry Dnata (providing ground handling services on behalf of Emirates Airlines at airports) and Sohail Ahmed of the Fazal-e-Rabi travel company — in an interim report submitted in the court of a judicial magistrate (Malir) under Section 173 of the criminal procedure code.

However, the FIA has not yet held responsible any member of its immigration staff deputed at the airport on the day of Shahrukh’s escape.

The IO stated in his report that suspect Sohail had issued an air ticket of the Emirates Airlines to Shahrukh on Dec 27 for Dubai in the name of Syed Shahrukh on incomplete and wrongful documents in order to illegally facilitate him for his departure.

Suspect Taha issued a boarding card to suspect Shahrukh despite knowing the fact that no passenger in the name of Syed Shahrukh was travelling.

The report added that he also entered the passport bearing No. AL 4101012 with the name of passenger Syed Shahrukh in the system, but the said passport actually belonged to one Muhammad Ali Khan, a resident of Swabi.

The passport (AC534552) of Shahrukh Jatoi had the stamp of Dubai immigration dated Dec 27, 2012, but it had no exit stamp of the FIA.

The charge-sheet said that suspect Shahrukh in order to hoodwink the immigration staff in connivance with other suspects wrongfully obtained the air ticket and the boarding card and finally taking advantage of protocol bypassed the immigration counter without getting himself cleared and left Pakistan through fraudulent means.

It said that according to his education certificates and birth record, Shahrukh’s date of birth was Nov 27, 1993 while his two passports had a different date of birth (Nov 11, 1995).

Nawab Ali Jatoi, the elder brother of Shahrukh, and Mohammad Khurram, a friend, have also travelled with the suspect, it said.

However, they were not named as accused in the interim report.

The advance passenger information of the Emirates Airlines flight EK-605 shown that Syed Shahrukh was mentioned at serial No 123 with seat No 33d. He had not got his immigration clearance as per the FIA record of flight in question, the charge-sheet said.

The IO cited 16 persons in the list of prosecution witnesses and stated that letters and reminders had been sent to the airport’s chief security officer to provide CCTV footage of all areas of the airport between 2am to 5:40am, Dec 27, 2012 and to intimate the names of functionaries of the Pakistan International Airlines and the Civil Aviation Authority who were performing protocol duties at the international departure at the said time.

However, the IO said that the reply was still awaited and requested the court to grant time for submission of the final charge-sheet. The court allowed the plea and granted four days’ time for submitting the final report.

All the three charge-sheeted suspects were shown in custody.

According to the prosecution, a case (FIR 26/2013) was registered on Jan 28 regarding the escape of Shahrukh Jatoi from Karachi airport in the early hours of Dec 27, 2012 on forged documents.

The case was registered under Sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating an dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 3 (prohibition of departure from Pakistan without passport, etc.), 4 (punishment for contravention of section 3) and 6 (1) (penalties for certain offence relating to passport) of the Passport Act, 1974.

Meanwhile, the district and sessions court (Malir) granted interim pre-arrest bail to Mohammad Umer Zakria, the owner of a travel company, against a surety bond of Rs100,000 till Feb 20.The court also extended the interim pre-arrest bail of Syed Salman Shah of the Gerry Dnata till the same date.