KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Tuesday recorded statement of an eyewitness in the case pertaining to killing of an aspiring Waziristan model Naqeebullah Mehsud and three others in an alleged ‘staged’ encounter.

Then SSP Rao Anwar, then DSP Qamar Ahmed Shaikh along with their 16 subordinates, have been charged with kidnapping the four men for ransom and then killing them by declaring them militants, foisting fake recoveries of weapons and explosives and hiding the evidence of the ‘fake’ encounter in January 2018 within the remit of Shah Latif Town police station.

On Tuesday, the matter came up before the ATC-III judge, who is conducting the trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, when the special public prosecutor produced two prosecution witnesses, Mohammad Qasim and Hazrat Ali.

The witness, Mohammad Qasim, deposed that he along with Naqeebullah and three others was kidnapped by the police officials from a hotel in Sohrab Goth.

He further deposed that the policemen kept them at some undisclosed place, where they subjected them to physical torture and demanded ransom.

The witness testified that the policemen even put a nose ring (nakel) to him during captivity.

Mohammad Qasim said that he was released by the police officials from their illegal confinement after 72 hours.

During the cross-examination, the witness testified that he remained in the captivity of the policemen along with Naqeebullah, whom he knew only through Facebook.

The eyewitness added that the slain Naqeebullah used to work at a factory, as per his information.

The witness said he had not recorded any statement before a joint investigation team probing into the matter nor had he named any policeman in his statement recorded before the police.

After recording his statement, the court summoned witness Hazrat Ali on the next date to testify and fixed the matter on Oct 10.

Torture of man in DHA

A local court on Tuesday remanded three suspects in judicial custody for 10 days in a case pertaining to alleged torture of a man in Defence.

Police claimed to have booked and detained Mohammad Khan, Bilal and Gazeen Khan — said to be a security guard, driver and personal employee of Jamhoori Watan Party leader Sahibzada Shahzain Bugti — for allegedly torturing Najam Ali over an issue of parking in Saba Commercial, Phase-V, on Oct 6.

On Tuesday, the investigating officer produced the suspects before the judicial magistrate (South) and requested for their physical remand in police custody for 14 days.

However, the judge remanded them in judicial custody for 10 days with direction to produce them on the next date along with an investigation report.

According to contents of the FIR, complainant Najam Ali said he was buying household items near the Hot and Spicy restaurant on Sunday evening, when a security guard asked him to remove his vehicle from the parking area.

The complainant told him that he would remove his car after he was done shopping, but soon another guard came and asked him to remove his car, it said.

Ali said the guard dragged him by holding his arm and forced him to remove his car from the parking area, stated the FIR, adding that soon 10 to 15 other men came and subjected him to physical torture.

A case was registered under Sections 324 (attempted murder), 337-A(j) (punishment for causing hurt by mistake) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Darakhshan police station.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2019