KARACHI: Issuing show-cause notices to three police officials for their ‘defective’ investigation, an antiterrorism court on Monday acquitted a man in a case pertaining to alleged recovery of huge quantity of explosives and illicit weapons.

The accused, Asadullah, was exonerated of all charges as the prosecution failed to prove its case due to destruction of the evidence by investigating officer, a bomb disposal squad (BDS) expert and others.

The ATC-XII judge, who conducted the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, pronounced his verdict reserved earlier after recording evidence and final arguments from both sides.

“All prosecution witnesses made material contradictions to favour accused intentionally due to which it cannot be safely relied upon the evidence of these prosecution witnesses,” wrote the judge in his order.

Show-cause notices issued to three policemen for faulty investigations

“In the present case huge quantity of arms and ammunitions as well as explosive substances were recovered, but due to not pursuing case properly by police officials, evidence became inadmissible,” the judge added.

The verdict stated that the prosecution had miserably failed to prove its case due to mala fide intentions of their witnesses.

The court while acquitting the accused directed the jail superintendent to release him forthwith if not required in any other criminal case.

The court also issued show-cause notices to then Manghopir SHO Inspector Ghulam Hussain Korai, IO Mohammad Zubair Ghumman and BDS official Inspector Abid Farooque under Section 27 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997 for not pursuing and investigating the case properly.

The three officials were directed to appear in court on Oct 8.

During the trial, the accused recorded his statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code, deposing that the police took him away from Yousuf Goth on Oct 15, 2016.

He said the police had foisted upon him the explosives, arms and ammunition as nothing was recovered from his possession.

According to the prosecution, the accused Asadullah was arrested and booked in two separate cases registered under Sections 23(i)-A of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013 and Sections 4/5 of the Explosive Substances Act read with Section 7 of the ATA, 1997 at the Pak Colony police station. His two accomplices — Mohammad Anwar alias Hadi and Bilal Ali alias Bhayya — were shown as absconders.

Prosecution witness Inspector Korai deposed that on Feb 2, 2016 police raided a place in Old Golimar and after a shootout arrested Asadullah. During interrogation, he disclosed that he was a resident of Lyari and had dumped a big cache of explosives, arms and ammunition belonging to the Lyari gangs.

He testified that on his information, police carried out a raid and recovered 32 plastic bags containing explosives, 70 Kalashnikovs, three pistols, one rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), one G-3 rifle, one light machine gun, six repeater guns and 11,400 bullets of different calibre.

However, the second prosecution witnesses, IO Ghumman, showed the recovery of 32 gunny bags containing 70 Awan shells, 11 RPGs, 11 Awan shell launchers, five sub-machine guns, three pistols, 7mm calibre rifles, two repeater guns, 70 magazines of SMGs, one G-3 rifle, one M-16 rifle, one silencer, one dagger and 11,400 bullets.

The court found contradictions in their statements.

The IO also conceded that he did not mention in the investigation report that the alleged recoveries belonged to the elements of the Lyari gang warfare, adding that he had destroyed the handwritten statements of prosecution witnesses recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC.

“I am of the view that this is also illegality committed by this PW, as he should have retained such statements on record,” the judge noted.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2018