KARACHI: A key prosecution witness on Friday retracted his earlier statement and refused to identify a UC chairman as an accused before an antiterrorism court in a case pertaining to the killing of a local leader of the Jeay Sindh Tehreek (JST).

The UC chairman, Abdul Raheem Shah, along with some police officials, has been facing trial for allegedly causing bullet injuries to Irshad Ranjhani, a city leader of the JST, in a mugging incident in February last year in Malir. Mr Shah allegedly again shot the victim when he was being shifted to hospital in an ambulance that left the wounded man dead.

The case of the prosecution was heavily relying on the evidence of ambulance driver Abid Rasheed since in his statement recorded under Section 161 of the criminal procedure code by the investigating officer, the witness had said that the UC chairman had intercepted the ambulance and fired two more shots at the wounded person.

The witness appeared before the ATC-XIII judge and deposed that on Feb 6, 2019, he was taking the injured to hospital in the ambulance along with Sub-Inspector Ali Gohar and Constable Altaf Hussain and after four to five minutes two men riding a motorcycle intercepted the ambulance, opened the back door and fired two bullets at the injured.

The driver further testified that when they reached the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre the victim succumbed to his injuries. When the witness was asked whether the accused Abdul Raheem, present in the courtroom, was the same person who intercepted and fired the shots, the witness refused to identify him as an accused.

He said that the accused present in the court was not the same, adding that the men riding the motorcycle were aged about 27 to 28 years.

Subsequently, the prosecutor and lawyer for complainant requested the court to declare the witness hostile and allow them to cross-examine him on the grounds that he deviated from his 161 CrPC statement as he had not only nominated, but also had identified the accused in his earlier statement.

The lawyer for accused raised objection and contended that a witness whose statement was recorded under Section 161 during investigation could not be declared hostile and lawyer for complainant had no right to cross-examine him.

After hearing both sides, the judge reserved his order till July 28.

Initially, the police had booked the UC chairman for manslaughter and Sub-Inspector Riaz Hussain Amur for taking the victim to police station to book him in an attempted robbery case instead of shifting him to hospital after a video went viral on social media in which the UC chairman was apparently not allowing the people to shift the wounded Ranjhani to hospital.

The police in the charge sheet had removed antiterrorism sections and contended that Abdul Raheem Shah acted in self-defence since the deceased along with his accomplices had attempted to rob him and he also had criminal record.

But later, the IO incorporated ATA provisions in the charge sheet.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2020