PESHAWAR, Nov 2: An assistant superintendent of police (ASP), Dar Ali Khattak and a station house officer (SHO), Shakirullah Bangash, were taken into custody here on Saturday in connection with the murder of a union Nazim, after they withdrew their pre-arrest bail application pending before a local court.

The two officers had filed a pre-arrest bail application before the court of additional district and sessions judge, Saleem Khan, and were allowed interim bail on Sept 19. They were nominated in an FIR by relatives of the deceased Nazim of Pishtakhara union council, Fayyaz Khalil.

The court had fixed Saturday for the final hearing on the said application when the two officers moved an application for withdrawing their application, stating that no lawyer in the provincial capital was willing to plead their case.

They claimed that they had engaged a counsel for the purpose but he had been receiving threats and even the bar council had asked its members not to plead their case as the deceased was a member of the bar.

Earlier, a panel of lawyers headed by Abdul Samad Khan argued before the court that the accused were directly charged in the FIR by the complainant Ishaq Khalil advocate. They contended that witnesses were available who had pointed out that the two officials had killed the Nazim.

The counsel argued that the incident occurred in daylight and there was no question of any benefit of doubt.

After their arguments, the two accused informed the court that their counsel had been receiving threats for appearing on their behalf.

They said that in the present circumstance they could not pursue their case and would prefer to withdraw it.

A big contingent of police remained present on the premises of the sessions court during the proceedings of the case. Soon after the accused withdrew their application they were shifted to an undisclosed location by the highups of the police present there.

The court observed that the accused had agreed to surrender to the police and had not been pressing their application.

The Nazim had received bullet wounds on Sept 16 during a demonstration by the residents of Pishtakhara.

The protesters were agitating against the Wapda for power suspension in the area, situated in the suburb of the provincial capital.

At the time of incident, Dar Ali Khattak was the ASP of the Cantt Circle and Shakirullah Bangash was the Station House Officer of Pishtakhara police station.