KARACHI: An antiterrorism court on Saturday directed the Karachi police chief to initiate departmental proceedings against administration of a judicial malkhana (storehouse of case property) located on the City Courts premises for failing to produce case property.

While exonerating an accused in attempted murder and illicit weapon cases, the ATC-XII observed that during an arson incident of malkhana, the case property of this matter was also brunt and not produced during the proceedings.

The court ruled that the accused cannot be convicted of recovery of illicit arms and this burden also shifted upon the shoulders of the then administration of malkhana and thus, they must be penalised for such act through departmental proceedings.

The ATC directed the Karachi police chief for compliance of its order.

A fire broke out in the judicial malkhana at the City Courts in April 2018 destroying important evidence in thousands of criminal trials and case properties. Three officials of the storage facility were booked for their alleged negligence.

A police report had termed the incident accidental stating that two judicial officers conducted the inquiry of the incident and a joint investigation team (JIT) headed by the then DIG (South) also probed the matter while Rangers and intelligence agencies also investigated it, but no evidence was found to establish that it was an act of arson.

The report further stated that as per the report of the judicial inquiry, a case property containing explosives and rocket launchers was brought back in the malkhana after its production before an ATC on the day of the incident, adding that the box of the case property was opened and unsealed and the malkhana officials put it back in the warehouse without examining it and closed the storage facility. The incident occurred due to this negligence on the part of officials.

The investigation report had further maintained that the case property and record of districts South and West were completely destroyed in the fire, old record of the central record office was also burnt while the case property of three police stations of district Central was also destroyed and explosives and ammunitions, kept in the malkhana, also exploded in the fire. However, the case property of district East, kept in the same facility, remained safe.

Initially, police had charge-sheeted the officers in charge of district West, Central and South sections of the malkhana, Sub-Inspector Abdul Sattar Gopang, SI Turab Ali and ASI Shakeel Mirza, but a judicial magistrate observed that the explosives had blown up during the fire which created terror and insecurity among the people living in the surroundings areas and directed the IO to incorporate Section 6/7 of the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997. Therefore, the case was sent to an ATC for trial after addition of relevant provisions of ATA.

Witness testifies

A prosecution witness on Saturday failed to identify some leaders and workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement as accused persons before another ATC in a case pertaining to a violent protest, arson attack and ransacking of media houses following a 2016 incendiary speech of MQM founder Altaf Hussain.

Inspector Aurangzeb Khattak appeared before the ATC-II as a witness to record his testimony and during his evidence and cross-examination the witness said that he did not see the MQM leaders and workers present in the courtroom attacking media houses.

After recording his statement, the court adjourned the hearing till Oct 20.

Dr Farooq Sattar, Amir Khan, Kanwar Naveed Jameel, Qamar Mansoor and other leaders of MQM along with dozens of workers are facing trial in this case.

The prosecution said that a highly-provocative speech of London-based founder of the party on Aug 22, 2016 outside the Karachi Press Club allegedly triggered a violent protest, arson attacks and ransacking of media houses that left a passer-by dead.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2021