KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court while hearing the Shahzeb murder case on Thursday recorded the statement of Nawab Imdad Ali Talpur, father of two accused brothers, and dismissed an application for re-examination of the murder weapon and spent bullet casings in the Shahzeb murder case.

Shahrukh Jatoi, Nawab Siraj Ali Talpur, his younger brother Nawab Sajjad Ali Talpur and their house servant Ghulam Murtaza Lashari had been charged with killing 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan on the night of Dec 24 after an argument over Lashari allegedly teasing Shahzeb’s sister.

The father of the Talpur brothers, Nawab Imdad Ali Talpur, appeared before the court on Thursday and deposed that he was in his flat in Country Club Apartments — where the victim also lived — on the night of the incident.

He was of the view that Siraj and Sajjad were busy studying in the flat when the murder took place, adding that his sons were innocent and had nothing to do with the case.

During cross-examination by the prosecutor, Mr Talpur said he had submitted an application to the police in that regard but it was not entertained. However, he conceded that no such application was produced or moved before the court. He also said that his family had no enmity with the prosecution witnesses who had testified against his sons.

 Plea dismissed

The court also dismissed an application regarding re-examination of murder weapon and empty bullet casings moved by the defence.

One of the lawyers for Shahrukh Jatoi had moved an application asking the court to resend the pistol — allegedly seized on information from Shahrukh — and spent bullet casings claimed to have been found on the crime scene for analyses since the forensic science laboratory (FSL) expert had not turned up to testify in court.

The plea was objected to by the prosecutor on grounds that the articles in question had already been examined by an FSL expert and the report was on record and admissible in court under Section 510 of the CrPC. According to the FSL report, some of the spent bullet casings had been fired from the pistol in question.

Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon of ATC-III, who is conducting the trial on a day-to-day basis, adjourned the hearing till Friday.

The accused had been booked in a murder case under sections 302 (punishment for premeditated murder), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 216 (harbouring offender who has escaped from custody whose apprehension has been ordered), 109 (abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code with Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act on the complaint of deceased’s father, Aurangzeb Khan, a DSP at the Darakhshan police station.