KARACHI: The Additional Inspector General, Karachi Range, Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh, on Sunday established a ‘special team’ to investigate the liquor case against member of the Sindh Assembly and former information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon.

South Zone DIG Javed Alam Odho has been named its chairman while South Investigation-I SSP Abdullah Jan and East Investigation-I SSP Shabbir Memon are members of the team.

The purpose of the team was to complete investigation of the case (FIR 398/2018) registered under Section 4 of the Prohibition Ordinance at the Boat Basin police station.

“The team has been directed to conduct probe into the liquor case strictly on merit”, said the official order. It may opt to include any officer from the Karachi range to assist it in investigation.

A senior official, who did not want to be named, told Dawn that the formation of such team was necessary as the accused held a high profile and the case attracted media attention.

Besides, Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar had personally conducted the ‘raid’ on a room of Dr Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton, which was declared a sub-jail by provincial authorities, where Mr Memon was staying, and found liquor there.

The team would also look into possible manipulation of the liquor bottles and the medical test of Mr Memon. Three other accused in the case are stated to be personal attendants of the provincial lawmaker.

Sources said that blood and urine samples of Mr Memon were obtained by the jail authorities and sent to two private hospitals for examination.

Chemical examiner of the Sindh government Dr Zahid Ansari said they would receive the samples on Monday, as Sunday was a public holiday, for examination.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the special police team, Javed Odho, said the investigation into the case had started.

“We will collect meticulous details of the case,” he added.

On Saturday, the jail authorities shifted Mr Memon back to the central prison and ended the status sub-jail for his rooms inside the hospital while his three servants — Mohammed Jam, Shakarudin and Mushtaq Ali — were taken into custody by the Boat Basin police.

All the three servants, one of them driver, were produced before a judicial magistrate (South) on Sunday. The magistrate gave them into police custody for 14 days for investigation.

The Boat Basin police have registered a case on the complaint of assistant superintendent of central prison Mujahid Khan.

The area SHO, Shakeel Shervani, told Dawn that the jail police have handed over two bottles to the Boat Basin police and added that Mr Memon would be treated as the main accused in the case.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2018