HYDERABAD, Feb 11: The three police constables, who were eye- witness in the murder of the SHO, GORC police station, Ghulam Mustafa Shahani, identified the 12 accused before the court.
They recorded their statements and were subjected to cross examination by the defence counsels, Allah Bachayo Soomro, Irfan Kalhoro, Naseer Abro and others.
The police constables, Fazalur Rehman, Mohammad Rafique and Mohammad Saifal told the court they had accompanied the SHO when the encounter took place, leaving the SHO dead and injuring one of the assailants.
The witnesses said that they had parked their police mobile at a petrol pump and went to Al-Mustafa Town to arrest the accused in crime numbers 43 and 47 of 1997 lodged at the GORC police station.
They said that the assailants upon seeing the police party started indiscriminate firing and a bullet hit the SHO, who fell on the ground.
They pointed out that the SHO was brought to the civil hospital where he died after some minutes.
The witnesses informed the court that they had also opened fire in self defence, hitting one of the assailants.
Shahani was killed on Dec 1, 1997, in Al-Mustafa Town as an encounter took place between the GORC police and activists of the PPP (SB) at the residence of Akhtar Jamali, who was also killed two years back. One SPSF (SB) activist, Ghulam Mustafa Mari, also lost his life in encounter as his body was found the next morning.
SUGAR MILLS: A division bench of Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit, has dismissed, in limine, two constitutional petitions of two sugar mills, challenging issuance of a notice, requiring them to pay Market Committee Fees on the purchase of sugarcane since 1992 to date.
The bench comprised Mr Justice Muhammad Roshan Essani and Mr Justice S. Ali Aslam Jafri.
The petitions were filed by Fauji and Ansari Sugar Mills. Secretary Agriculture & Food, Chairman Market Committees of Matli and Tando Mohammad Khan were cited as respondents.
The petitioners, represented by Dr Raees M. Mushtaque, advocate, claimed that the government always fixed price of sugarcane and they were legally bound to pay prices so fixed to sugarcane growers.
AAG Sindh Masood A. Noorani argued that it was a case of unconditional withdrawal and no permission for filing a fresh petition was sought and pointed out some anomalies in the present petitions, adding that earlier petitions were dismissed.
Taking into considerations different laws and arguments of state and petitioners’ counsels, the court observed that the petitioners were precluded from filing these petitions which were not maintainable and as such dismissed in limine.