KARACHI, Jan 3: Seven suspects, said to be activists of the banned Sipah-i-Muhammad, were on Monday remanded in police custody till Jan 6 in two murder cases.

The police produced the suspects — Tanveer Abbas Rizvi alias Kashif, Abrar Husain Rizvi, Syed Pervaiz Zaidi, Rifat Raza alias Jehangir, Hasnain Abbas alias Faisal, Syed Sikandar Rizvi and Syed Ali Mehdi — before two judicial magistrates (central) for their remand.

The police claimed that the suspects had allegedly murdered Mukhtar Ali alias PCO Wala on July 7, 2010 within the remit of the Khawaja Ajmer Nagri police station. A case (FIR 443/10) was registered against them under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

In the second case, the police told the judicial magistrate concerned that the suspects had allegedly killed Mudassar Alam in Nov 2010 and a case (FIR 806/10) was registered against them under Sections 302 and 34 of the PPC at the Sir Syed police station.

The magistrates remanded the suspects in both murder cases till Jan 6.

The suspects were also produced before two other judicial magistrates (east) in nine cases registered against them under Sections 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the PPC, 13-D of the Pakistan Arms Ordinance, 1965 and Sections 4/5 of the Explosive Substance Act at the Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Mobina Town and Gulistan-i-Jauhar police stations.

The court granted their police remand till Jan 6.

The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Karachi police claimed to have arrested the suspects in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Gulistan-i-Jauhar after shoot-outs on Jan 2. The SIU also claimed that unlicensed weapons and explosives were also recovered from their possession and that they were involved in a number of targeted killings in the city.