KARACHI, Feb 19: An anti-terrorism court put off the hearing of a donation (Chanda) collection case against three workers of a banned outfit, Khuddamul Islam, after recording the deposition of a prosecution witness on Thursday.

Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 fixed Feb 21 for recording further evidence after the statement of Mohammed Hanif, a taxi driver, who acted as witness to the seizure of a huge amount of money from the office of the outfit.

Accused Iftikhar, 27, Mohammed Ashraf, 40, and Syed Ameen Raza, 44, were allegedly arrested on Nov 23, 2003, by the Mehmoodabad police, when they were collecting donations near Masjid-i-Aqsa.

The police seized Rs2,700 on the spot, and later recovered Rs1272,980 from the office of the banned outfit in Jamshed Quarter on the information provided by Ashraf. PW Hanif stated that he was waiting for passengers in Jamshed Quarter, where a police party asked him to act as a witness to the recovery.

He claimed that accused Mohammed Ashraf was also with the police party, and he led them to a room in the office of the Khuddamul Islam, where a steel box and a suitcase were found, and the police seized the money from the suitcase. A shopping bag, containing some money, was also seized, he added.

He said Inspector Khalil counted the money in his presence.He said the police also seized 110 receipt books from the office of the Khuddamul Islam. The accused, who are defending them themselves, also cross-examined the prosecution witness.