KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Tuesday transferred the murder case of TV anchor Mureed Abbas and another individual to an antiterrorism court for trial.

Police booked and arrested suspect Atif Zaman for allegedly killing his two business partners — Mureed Abbas and Khizar Hayat — in Khayaban-i-Bukhari, Defence, on the night of July 9.

Judicial Magistrate (south) Abdul Raqeeb Tunio passed the order on an application moved by the investigating officer seeking transfer of the case to an ATC for further trial.

Last week, the IO, Atiqur Rehman, had filed an investigation report incorporating Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 in the case and requested the transfer of the case to ATC.

In the investigation report, the IO stated that suspect Zaman was employed in a company’s recovery department and earned between Rs10,000 and Rs15,000 per month, but he posed himself as an investor in the business of sale and purchase of tyres.

It said that the suspect started the business with Rs600,000, which he deceitfully received from one Humayun, and then started cheating the public at large.

During the course of investigation, the report said, it transpired that the suspect minted around Rs390 million from different people and several people who invested their money also approached the police.

The report said that Zaman killed Abbas when the latter asked him to return his investment. The call data record (CDR) also suggested that the suspect called Hayat and Abbas on the pretext of returning their money, but killed them, it added.

The report further said that Zaman first killed Hayat at the business place in the commercial area, then he killed Abbas in a residential area and kept waving a weapon due to which some residents shifted their children to other places due to fear.

The IO stated that he visited the places of incidents, recorded the statements of witnesses, who were still terrified, and collected other evidence.

Both the murders were committed at a short distance of 500 yards within a span of around five minutes and later Zaman also shot himself in an attempt to end his life, the report stated.

It added that the incidents sparked a sense of fear and terror among residents of the area. Therefore, the present case attracted Section 7 of ATA and the terrorism charge had also been added in the arms’ case against Zaman, it said.

The report also mentioned that suspect Zaman’s brother was also present with him at the time of the double murders.

Two cases were registered against him at the Darakhshan police station — one under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with the Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the ATA, 1997 on a complaint of Mureed Abbas’s wife and the other for attempting to commit suicide. Separately, police have also lodged an arms’ case against him.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2019

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