KARACHI: While Rangers and police were on a collision course after the latter released former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain in a case registered under the anti-terrorism law for what police described as lack of sufficient evidence, an accountability court on Friday handed him over to the National Accountability Bureau for a week for corruption inquiry.
NAB arrested Dr Asim, a close aide of former president Asif Ali Zardari, from the premises of Sindh High Court after the administrative judge of anti-terrorism courts allowed the bureau to take his custody when police informed him that the suspect had been released under Section 497(2) of CrPC in a case relating to providing treatment and shelter to terrorists at his hospital.
On Friday, NAB personnel brought Dr Asim, who had been in police custody since Nov 28 after spending three months in Rangers detention, before the administrative judge. The bureau’s investigating officer (IO), Zameer Abbassi, sought Dr Asim’s physical remand for 15 days for investigation.
NAB’s Deputy Prosecutor General (DPG) Amjad Ali Shah informed the judge that they had already shown the suspect’s arrest on Nov 29 for investigation into alleged misuse of authority in allotment of plots and land for Dr Ziauddin Hospital/Trust, encroachment of government land, kickbacks, land-grabbing and money-laundering.
But defence lawyers Amir Raza Naqvi and Anwar Mansoor Khan opposed the request for remand and argued that their client had been in custody after the arrest on Aug 27 and there was no example anywhere in the world that a suspect could be detained for more than 100 days without a trial.
They said the administrative judge had on Nov 29 also allowed NAB to investigate the suspect during his police custody in another case and the facility of enhanced investigation was available at the police station.
They said the bureau had no substance and material to seek custody and requested the court to release Dr Asim on bail.
But NAB’s DPG and IO argued that they had nothing to do with 90-day custody of the suspect and the administrative judge had allowed them access to Dr Asim only for questioning.
They said this was the first physical remand request from NAB, adding that the suspect’s custody was required to carry out raids and more arrests on the information to be provided by him.
They argued that there was also an extensive procedure to investigate money-laundering charges and that under Section 172(2) of CrPC they were not bound to provide material or substance to the defence counsel.
After hearing arguments of the two sides, the administrative judge, Saad Qureshi, handed over Dr Asim to NAB on a seven-day physical remand. The court also directed NAB not to give custody or access to any other law enforcement agency and provide necessary medical treatment to the suspect.
Earlier in the day, police produced Dr Asim before Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto of the Sindh High Court, who is also the administrative judge of ATCs. Investigating officer DSP Altaf Hussain informed the judge that the suspect had been released for what he called lack of sufficient evidence.
But Rangers’ law officers, including Mushtaq Jahangiri who is also special public prosecutor in the case, argued that the IO had no authority under Sections 19 and 21-D of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, to release the suspect.
They read out allegations from a report prepared by a joint investigation team during Dr Asim’s 90-day detention, submitted copies of the statement of prosecution witness Dr Yusuf Sattar, chief operating officer of Dr Ziauddin Hospital, recorded by a judicial magistrate against Dr Asim, and record/bills regarding alleged treatment of terrorists carrying head money in the hospital.
The paramilitary force’s lawyers argued that the first investigating officer of the case was impartially conducting the investigation, but police high-ups had appointed the present IO with mala fide intentions.
They said Dr Yusuf Sattar had supported the contents of FIR in his 164 CrPC statement before the magistrate on Nov 30 and there was sufficient evidence to charge sheet Dr Asim.
They requested the court to take legal action against the IO under Section 27-A of the ATA for conducting “defective investigation”.
The defence lawyers argued that it was prerogative of the IO to release the suspect and said it was a “case of no evidence”.
Dr Asim said he was a retired army officer and supported the efforts of Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif to restore peace in the country as well as the targeted operation in Karachi, but Rangers were trying to frame him and his hospital in a fabricated case merely on the basis of a statement by a medical superintendent of his hospital.
NAB also moved an application seeking custody of Dr Asim in a graft inquiry.
After hearing both sides, Justice Phulpoto expressed displeasure over non-submission of the investigation report under Section 173 of CrPC and directed the IO to submit it within 10 days. He said the court would issue an order about the fate of Dr Asim after examining the investigation report. The court also allowed NAB to take custody of the suspect.
Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2015