RAWALPINDI, March 25: A civil judge here on Tuesday remanded a TV channel journalist, arrested for his alleged involvement in murder, into physical custody of the Sadiqabad police for three days.

Sub-inspector Sheikh Aslam requested for a 10-day custody of Yasir Zahoor Abbasi to recover the weapon and interrogate him, who was arrested in connection with killing of Saddar Khan outside a hotel near Rehmanabad Chowk on March 22.

However, Judge Atta Rabani granted a three-day remand to the police. Counsel for Mr Abbasi told the court that his client was invited to attend a weeding in the hotel and he called superintendent police Rawal Town for help when a person started firing.

The lawyer said the journalist remained on the spot as one man got injured as a result of the firing and informed other journalists about the incident.

Some people came from the hotel and took him forcibly inside the hotel and started beating him, alleging that he had killed their relative, the counsel said.

According to complainant Momin Khan, owner of the Frontier hotel, he was sitting at the counter of his hotel when a wedding party reached at a nearby marriage hall and some people parked their vehicles in front of his hotel. In the meantime, Saddar Khan, cousin of Momin, came at the hotel and parked his rickshaw on the pavement, he said.

According to the FIR, Mr Abbasi fired and injured Saddar Khan with a pistol over a parking dispute. He was taken the Rawalpindi General Hospital where he died later.

Outside the court the accused told mediapersons that he informed the police as his professional duty and that he had no animosity with the deceased and his relative. He claimed that he was wrongly being implicated in this case.