KARACHI: A suspect on Tuesday refused to record his confessional statement before a judicial magistrate in a case pertaining to the murder of renowned philanthropist Perween Rahman.

Mohammad Raheem Swati was arrested and illicit weapons were seized from his custody on May 7 after a shootout in Manghopir, police said. They added that he was the prime suspect in Ms Rahman murder case.

At a previous hearing, the investigating officer had moved an application requesting the magistrate to record the confessional statement of the suspect under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code in Ms Rahman murder case.

When the police produced him before the judicial magistrate (west), Salman Amjad Siddiqui, he alleged that the police were forcing him to record his confession.

The murder case is pending trial before an ATC against detained suspects Ahmed Khan alias Ahmed Ali alias Pappu Kashmiri and Mohammad Imran Swati, while Raheem Swati, Ayaz Swati, Amjad Afridi and Shaldar Khan were shown absconders in the last charge sheet filed in October 2015.

Ms Rahman, director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was gunned down in a targeted attack on Manghopir Road in March 2013.

Jail authorities told to produce Uzair

An antiterrorism court on Tuesday directed the jail authorities to produce suspected Lyari gangster Uzair Jan Baloch in an explosive and illicit weapons case.

The interned chief of the banned Lyari Peoples Aman Committee has been booked for allegedly hiding arms, ammunition and explosives in a Garden locality.

The Rangers had detained Uzair for 90 days following his mysterious arrest in January. In April, the paramilitary force handed him over to police after registering a case of explosives and illicit weapons at the Nabi Bukhsh police station.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2016