KARACHI, Sept 4: An anti-terrorism court ordered police on Tuesday to provide security to witnesses in the Shershah scrap market carnage case.

Lal Mohammad Magsi, Shafi Mohammad, Aslam Pervez, said to be associated with one of the several criminal gangs operating in Lyari, have been charged with carrying out the Shershah scrap market carnage on Oct 19, 2010 that had left 12 people dead and several others wounded.

The complainant through his counsel moved an application and contended that the private witnesses were reluctant to turn up and testify before the court because of insecurity.

He requested the court to provide protection to the witnesses. The public prosecutor did not oppose the plea.

Allowing the application, Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of the ATC-I directed the superintendent of police concerned to give security to the witnesses.

The prosecution has so far examined three policemen and two medico-legal officers, but no private witness has yet turned up apparently out of fear of retaliation.

Noor Mohammad alias Baba Ladla, Hameed alias Mulla Raju, Rasheed and Imdad were absconding accused in the case.

A case (FIR 578/2010) was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Pak Colony police station on a complaint of Mohammad Nafees, a survivor of the carnage.

On Jan 26, 2011 the administrative judge of ATCs released nine other suspects in the present case under Section 497 (2) of the criminal procedure code as the complainant, who had nominated the suspects in the FIR with parentage, failed to identify any of them in court and other eyewitness also remained reluctant to identify them.

ASI’s murder case

The same court indicted on Tuesday two accused in the murder of an assistant sub-inspector of traffic police.

Junaid Khan and Atif have been charged with trying to flee after committing a robbery on the night of Feb 8 on Sharea Faisal and gunning down ASI Abdul Jabbar of the traffic police when he tried to stop them.

The judge read out the charges against the accused, who pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the charges.

The court summoned the prosecution witnesses to record their testimonies on Sept 19.

A case (FIR 91/11) was lodged under Sections 302 (punishment for premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the PPC read with Section 7 of the ATA at the Ferozabad police station. The suspects were apprehended on the same day by on-duty traffic police officials helped by Pakistan navy personnel.