KARACHI, June 14: Two men who were booked by the New Karachi police, under section 11 of the Anti-terrorism Act, were released on Thursday after the investigation officer (IO) accused the police party which arrested the accused of lodging a false FIR and twisting facts.

The Acting Administrative Judge (AAJ) of the anti-terrorism courts for Karachi, Arshad Noor Khan, approved the report submitted by the New Karachi police under section 169 of CrPC, allowing release of the innocent persons who remained in police custody from June 4 till June 13.

ASI Nazeer Mekan lodged an FIR at his police station that he arrested two men, Hafiz Mehmood alias Shahid Mian and Anees Ahmed, on a tipoff by an informer. The accused were distributing audio and video cassettes among youth when they were encircled by a police party, but the recipients fled away, the FIR said.

The police party showed recovery of 94 audio cassettes and 12 video cassettes from the possession of the accused and, according to the police party, the cassettes contained sectarian and anti-government material.

The investigation of the case was handed over to ASI Syed Sadaqat Ali of the said police station, and the accused were then produced before the administrative judge of the Sindh High Court, who allowed remand request by police for their physical custody so that they could be interrogated and further recovery could be made.

The IO stated, in his report, that “he called ASI Nazeer Mekan and police constable Lutuf Ali to record their statements in the case, but they avoided the matter.” The administrative judge asked me to hear and watch the audio and video cassettes which I did, said the IO in his report.

“I have also visited the place of alleged incident and inquired from area people, recorded statements of people who said no such incident or arrests at that particular place took place, that is, sector 5-J, D ka more,” stated the IO in his report.

The IO said he again interrogated accused Hafiz Mehmood who told him that he was arrested at the jail roundabout at 9:30am on June 4 and police took him to his shop at Rainbow Centre where the co-accused and his brother-in-law Anees was also arrested and 400-500 cassettes were seized.

The DSP Investigation summoned all the witnesses connected with the case, but these two police officials went on casual leave, although they were aware of the fact that the DSP had summoned them, the IO said in his report.—APP