KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court acquitted on Tuesday two accused in extortion, illicit weapons and encounter with police cases and issued show-cause notices to two police officers for showing negligence during investigation of the cases.

Mohammad Munir and Mohammad Hassan along with their absconding accomplices have been charged with demanding protection money from a shopkeeper in Gulberg in March 2012, attacking a police party and carrying unlicensed weapons at the time of their arrest.

The judge of the ATC-II exonerated the accused in the extortion case after the complainant, Mohammad Sohail, and another private witness were declared hostile by the prosecution because they did not identify the accused.

The court found the accused not guilty in the remaining cases, observing that the weapons allegedly recovered from them were not sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for matching with bullet casings found at the scene of an encounter.

The court issued show-cause notices to Deputy Superintendent of Police Manzar Imam and Assistant Sub-Inspector Rais for not sending weapons for the analysis.

According to the prosecution, the accused along with absconding accomplices Babar Qureshi, Danish, Jameel and Farrukh came to a chicken shop on March 3, and demanded protection money from the shopkeeper. The suspects were arrested on March 17 after a shootout with the police when they came to collect protection money and the police also found unlicensed weapons in their possession, it added.

A case was registered under Sections 384 (punishment for extortion), 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 506-B (criminal intimation) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

The accused were also booked under Sections 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 of the PPC and Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance.

12 sent to prison

A judicial magistrate sent on Tuesday 12 suspects to prison in a case pertaining to violation of a ban imposed on swimming and bathing in the sea.

The police produced the suspects before the court and submitted that they were arrested on Aug 18 in Hawkesbay for allegedly defying a ban imposed under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code by the local administration on swimming and bathing at city beaches after the Seaview tragedy.

The magistrate sent the people to prison on judicial remand. They were booked under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Mauripur police station.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2014