KARACHI, March 9: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday directed the provincial police officer to deploy police commandos for the protection of the complainant and other witnesses in the Shahzeb murder case.

The lawyer for the complainant filed an application in the court seeking protection for the complainant and other prosecution witnesses.

However, it was brought to the notice of the counsel that a direction in this regard had already been issued to the inspector-general of police and according to a report of an additional IG eight policemen had been deployed for that purpose.

The complainant admitted the same before the court on Saturday. However, he stated that eight policemen were not sufficient to provide protection since there were around 50 witnesses in the case besides aged policemen had been attached to them for security.

Thereafter, Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon of the ATC-III directed the IG of Sindh police to deploy members of the special services group (commandos) for the protection of the complainant and other prosecution witnesses.

The case was fixed for the evidence of witnesses and eight prosecution witnesses were present before the court to record their testimonies on Saturday.

However, two of the four defence counsel did not turn up and one of them sent an adjournment application through his junior on the grounds that lawyers were observing a strike to express solidarity with the judiciary. Thus, the case was adjourned till March 11.

Shahrukh Jatoi, Nawab Siraj Ali Talpur, his younger brother Nawab Sajjad Ali Talpur and their house servant Ghulam Murtaza Lashari have been charged with killing 20-year-old Shahzeb and using criminal force with the intent to outraging the modesty of the deceased’s sister in Defence Housing Authority on the night of Dec 24.

A case (FIR No.591/12) was registered against the accused on the complaint of the deceased’s father Aurangzeb, a deputy superintendent of police, at the Darakhshan police station.