0
KARACHI, July 26: The inspector-general of police, Sindh, has said that Ataullah Bokhari, an alleged terrorist of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, is not in the police custody.
In an affidavit submitted before a division bench of the Sindh High Court on behalf of the IGP, the arrest of one of the men on the most wanted list of the police was denied.
Amir Mansoob Qureshi, counsel for the petitioner, sister of Ataullah Bokhari, said that according to the press reports, police claimed to have recovered four trucks leaded with arms and ammunition, including 3000 kgs of RDX, 242 Kalashnikov rifles, 2,700 hand grenades and 136 rocket-launchers, from the possession of the alleged detainee.
He requested the court to bring the fact/alleged recovery on record so that if the police showed arrest of the alleged detainee in future, the recovery be not attributed to him.
The counsel also requested the court to issue notice to the federal government as he feared that the accused was in custody of some federal agencies.
The bench, after hearing assistant advocate-general, Sindh, counsel for the petitioner and perusing the IGP’s affidavit, directed the SHO of the TPX police station to file the dairy as the petitioner alleged that Ataullah Bokhari is in illegal detention at the police station.
The court, while issuing notice to the federation, put off further hearing till July 31.
The accused was arrested at the house of his sister on June 16. The news was published in newspapers on June 17.
The same bench, while hearing another detention case of Mohammed Faisal Bhatti, an alleged accomplice of Ataullah Bokhari, issued notice to the advocate-general of Sindh for July 29.
The detainee was picked by police on June 16 from his house in North Nazimabad.
JAIL CHIEF SUMMONED: The Sindh High Court on Friday put on notice the superintendent of Central Prison Karachi on an application filed by family members of accused Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Hanif of the Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi for his refusal to allow them a meeting with the accused.
Justice Shabbir Ahmed issued notice to the jail superintendent to appear before the court at 10.30am on July 27.
Abdul Waheed Katpar, representing the applicants, maintained that judicial magistrate-10, South, had remanded the accused, involved in masterminding an aborted plan to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf and alleged to carry out the bomb explosion in front of the US consulate, in judicial custody and they should be kept at the central prison.
But, when the counsel along with the family members went to the central prison and showed the court orders the jail officials said: “they are not confined here”, it was contended.
A division bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Justice Atta-ur-Rehman and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, on Thursday had allowed family members of the accused to meet them inside the jail premises.
RETRIAL ORDERED: An appellate bench of the Sindh High Court, comprising Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, on Friday, ordered retrial of a Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker Mohammed Nadeem alias Nadeem Marble.
Agha Saleh Zafar advocate, counsel for the accused/appellant who was sentenced in a case of keeping illicit arms, submitted that the trial court judge — first ADJ West — forced his junior woman lawyer to proceed with the trial.
She was not allowed to produce material evidence in defence of the accused, he contended, adding that there were material contradictions in evidence of the prosecution witnesses.
Assistant advocate-general, Sindh, Habib Ahmed, opposed the appeal and said it was the duty of the defence to present his case at the time of trial and confront the witnesses in case of any contradiction.
The defence should have asked these questions from the investigation officer, he said. —APP/PPI
