KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday disposed of two petitions regarding the killing of a local leader of Jeay Sindh Tehreek and directed the joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the incident and file the compliance report.

A brother of Irshad Ranjhani, who was killed by a union council chairman last month in Malir in an alleged mugging incident, moved the SHC, seeking formation of a JIT while the UC chairman also petitioned the SHC challenging an order of a judicial magistrate for invoking anti-terror law against him.

There are two FIRs of the incident, one lodged on the complaint of the UC chairman and the second on behalf of the deceased’s brother. Later, a JIT was constituted to probe the matter.

While disposing of both petitions, a two-judge SHC bench headed by Justice Aftab Ahmed Gorar directed the JIT head to look into both the cases and to decide which version was correct for investigation. The bench also sought the compliance report.

Khalid Ranjhani through his lawyer moved the SHC and submitted that his brother, a city leader of Jeay Sindh Tehreek, was killed by UC chairman Abdul Raheem Shah on Feb 6 in an alleged mugging incident and police booked the victim in an attempted robbery case.

The petitioner argued that the victim sustained five bullet wounds and he was left to die since as per a video, which went viral on social media, the UC chairman did not allow the onlookers and the police to shift the injured person to hospital.

Non-payment of compensation

Meanwhile, the provincial home department through a report informed the SHC that there were 35 convicts still confined in various jails of the province for non-payment of compensation.

The report said that the total compensation (arsh, diyat and daman) amount was over Rs36.2 million, adding that there were 10 such convicts in central prison Karachi, 14 in Hyderabad prison, five in Sukkur, four convicts in Larkana and one each in district prisons Malir and Sanghar.

Earlier, the SHC had sought complete details about the convicts and prisoners confined in various jails of the province for non-payment of compensation.

Advocate Shahab Usto petitioned the SHC and submitted that the underprivileged convicts have been languishing in different prisons of Sindh just for non-payment of arsh, diyat and daman as they have completed the respective sentences and the authorities concerned were not taking any steps though they were bound under the Diyat, Arsh and Daman Funds Rules, 2007 to provide financial assistance or soft loans to such prisoners.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2019