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KARACHI, Jan 3: Eighteen activists of the Pakistan People’s Party who were booked on charges of looting and damaging public and private properties from Dec 27 to 31 in different parts of the city were released on Thursday due to lack of evidence.
The judicial magistrate, Central, Asadullah Shah Rashidi, exercising his power under Section 63 of the criminal procedure code, released 14 activists of the PPP due to lack of evidence and the prosecution also failed to prove their involvement in the cases.
The police had registered a case (327/07) against Mazhar, Mohammad Hussain, Shakir, Amir Ali, Mohammad Fazil, Nazir Ahmed, Sabir and others at the New Karachi Industrial Area police station under Sections 148, 149, 324, 353 and 380/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Meanwhile, the judicial magistrate, East, Pervez-ul-Qadir Memon, released four activities of the PPP against a surety bond of Rs20,000 each.
The police registered a case (365/07) under Sections 148, 149, 324, 353 and 380/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code against Mohammad Hanif, Waqas, Jamal Akthar and Abdullah at the Korangi Industrial Area police station for destroying public property and looting people, shops and houses. Three members of the PPP Lawyers’ Forum Karachi, Nafees Ahmed Usmani, Syed Azmat Shah and Zafar Ahmed represented the accused.
Remanded
Two more persons accused of rioting, robbery and arson were remanded to police custody till Jan 7 by the administrative judge for anti-terrorism courts of Karachi.
Abdul Waqar and Mohammad Naeem were produced before Justice Khwaja Naveed Ahmed by the Quaidabad police for remand to enable the investigation officer to interrogate them, trace out their accomplices and make more recoveries. The police said they were arrested on Jan 1 on the complaint of Hafeezur Rehman, owner of a factory in the Landhi Industrial Area. Over 1,400 rioters, the complainant said, ransacked his factory and destroyed its computer, telecom and close-circuit television networks on Dec 28.
They took away whatever gadgets they were able to lay their hands on. Two of the factory workers, Shamsher and Wahid Nasim, were injured by the attackers. Waqar and Naeem formed part of the unruly crowd.
The police said they recovered a computer processor and monitor from the two accused and were looking for other rioters. They have been booked under Sections 147, 148, 149, 324, 382, 427 and 435 of the penal code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorist Act. Their custody was required to make more recoveries and arrests, the police said.
