KARACHI, Feb 7: The Administrative Judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts, Karachi, Justice Salman Ansari, of the Sindh High Court on Saturday extended the judicial remand till Feb 14 of the four officials of the Anti-Car Lifting Cell allegedly involved in the killing of four traders from Balochistan in a fake encounter.
The suspended inspector and the SHO of the ACLC police station, Malik Irshad, and three other policemen have been accused of killing the traders – Haji Mohammad Tahir Achakzai, Obaidullah Khan Tareen, Mohammad Ibrahim Achakzai and Zainuddin Khan Achakzai –in an alleged encounter on Khalid bin Walid Road on Dec 31, 2008.
Two people died on the spot while the other two, critically wounded, succumbed to their wounds at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.
The city police chief had suspended the raiding team and a case against them was lodged at Ferozabad police station under Section 319 (Qatl-e-Khata or unintentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) after a departmental inquiry concluded that the four traders lost their lives due to the criminal intention of the police party.
However, acting on the orders of the Supreme Court, another case under Section 302 (intentional murder) of the PPC was lodged against the policemen on the complaint of Haji Lala Khan, the father of one of the victims.
The investigation officer of the case appeared in court and submitted that the identification parade of the suspects had not been conducted. He prayed to the court to extend the judicial remand of the accused policemen.
Justice Salman Ansari remanded the suspects in judicial custody for one more week and directed the IO to submit a charge-sheet against them.
‘Hoax caller’ remanded
Judicial Magistrate (south) Mohammad Shujaat Mirza on Saturday remanded a suspect in police custody till Feb 10 for threatening to blow up a private hospital where President Asif Ali Zardari’s father, Hakim Ali Zardari, was admitted.
Police said that the suspect, Haider Afridi, had frequently made telephone calls at the telephone exchange of the Ziauddin Hospital between January 1 to 4 and allegedly threatened to blow up the facility.
On Wednesday, an unidentified caller threatened to have planted a bomb at the Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton in the limits of Boat Basin police station. However, the call proved to be a hoax.
A case (FIR54/2009) was registered at Boat Basin police station on the complaint of Syed Sulemanuddin under Section 25-D of the Telephone & Telegraph Act and 506-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.
On Friday, the police with the help of investigating agencies had arrested the man said to be mentally challenged in Shireen Jinnah Colony.
The investigation officer of the case produced the suspect before the judicial magistrate, who remanded him in police custody till Feb 10.
Plea adjourned
The hearing of two cases against Agha Javed Pathan, who is also facing trial for hitting former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim with a shoe, was adjourned till Feb 17 as the court is lying vacant.
The accused was booked in two cases relating to possession of narcotics and an unlicensed weapon and he had moved an application for acquittal under Section 249-A of the criminal procedure code.—PPI/APP