GUJRANWALA, March 18: The local Anti-Terrorism Court No 1 continued hearing of the Sialkot jail incident on Friday while defence counsel Mazahir Ali Naqvi completed his arguments on transfer of the case to sessions court. Mr Naqvi pleaded that his clients, the senior police officers, had conducted an operation to avert violence and securing the lives of judges. He said they had performed their professional duties in accordance with the law. He also termed baseless the charges levelled against police officers. Judge Mujahid Mustaqim adjourned the case till March 25. The court also adjourned the bail plea of former Sialkot jail superintendent Sikandar Hayat on medical grounds till next hearing. However, the judge directed the medical officer to produce his medical report before court on next hearing. Meanwhile, the judge would hear acquittal pleas of senior police officers following decision on the petition of transferring the case to sessions court.

Former Gujranwala DIG Malik Muhammad Iqbal, former Sialkot DPO Amjad Javed Saleemi, former Gujrat DPO Raja Munawer Hassan, former MS of Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital Dr Firdaus, former surgeon Dr Sajjad Ahmad, former SHO Zulfikar Ali Virk and other accused were present in the court.

ACQUITTED: A local court acquitted five policemen, including an SHO, in a death case here on Friday.

Muhammad Tariq, arrested on suspicion of his involvement in a theft case, had died in a lock-up by alleged police torture during interrogation.

The police authority had suspended from service SHO Amir Hussain Sundho, investigation officer Rana Muhammad Ramzan, muharrar Tariq, naib muharrar Iftikhar Ahmad and guard Ehsanullah after registering a murder case against them.

However, the defence council pleaded that the deceased had committed suicide and that some police officers had wrongly implicated them in the murder case. While deceased’s widow Nazia Bibi also seconded the defence council. At this, the judge acquitted all the accused policemen.

Meanwhile, a single bench of the Lahore high court acquitted SHO Malik Nadim in an appeal against the decision of a lower court. The SHO had been awarded seven years imprisonment for conducting wrong investigation. Detained in the central jail Lahore, the SHO was released after court’s decision.