LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday dismissed post-arrest bail plea of former senior superintendent of police (SSP) Mufakhar Adeel in the murder case of former assistant advocate general Shahbaz Tatla.

During the arguments, the complainant’s counsel, Farhad Ali Shah, opposed the bail saying police had already submitted challan before the trial court. He said as per the police, the petitioner and other suspects confessed to their crime.

The counsel for the petitioner argued that police failed to collect any evidence to establish that the former law officer was dead.

He said the statement of a suspect in police custody had no value in the eye of law as the courts rendered sentences on the basis of evidence only.

At this, Justice Asjad Javed Ghural dismissed the petition.

SSP Adeel and Tatla had gone missing since Feb 7, 2020. The police initially arrested a common friend of the suspect and the deceased, Asad Bhatti, who narrated the details of the crime during the interrogation, saying Adeel dissolved Tatla’s body in a drum of acid after killing him.

The third suspect, Irfan Ali, was the shop owner from where the acid, used in the crime, was purchased. Later, the police officer ended his mysterious disappearance after one month and surrendered to the police.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2021