KARACHI, April 28: An absconding accused in the Gadap tragedy was declared proclaimed offender by the district and sessions court Malir. Judge Agha Rafique Ahmed Khan declared accused Manzoor a proclaimed offender after the investigation officer told the court that the accused could not be located despite exhausted efforts.
The investigation officer informed the court that accused Manzoor had fled to the forests in the interior of Sindh and there was no possibility of his arrest in the near future.
Zahid, Hanif and Haji Peeral were charge-sheeted for the offences under Sections 302 and 201 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 10 (3) and (4) of the Zina Ordinance. Hajra, 8, and Sassi, 5, went missing on Feb 20, and they were found murdered adjacent to the Gadap police station on Feb 23. Hajra's head was hit with a blunt object and Sassi was shot dead in the head.
The bodies were severely dismembered as dogs and cats nibbled and gnawed them violently and several body parts of Hajra were found missing, according to the postmortem examination report.
KIDNAPPING CASE: Two eye-witnesses identified on Wednesday four accused in a kidnapping for ransom case in an anti-terrorism court. Judge Arshad Noor Khan of the ATC-3 put off the hearing till Thursday after the deposition by Asif Ali and Abdul Waheed, the two eye-witnesses, and sub-inspector Khalid.
Accused Zafar Iqbal, Shaukat Ali, Akbar Ali and Muneer Ahmed are being tried for kidnapping Aslam Lodhi and five others on Jan 1 for ransom. According to prosecution, victim Lodhi was running a workshop of meter covers of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation in North Karachi. One of his employees, Zafar Iqbal, asked him and five other colleagues to have dinner at his house.
It was alleged that the accused intoxicated them and made a hostage. Later, the kidnapper phoned the son of the workshop owner, Mohammed Saqib Lodhi, and demanded a heavy sum for the release of the hostages.
The accused allegedly agreed to accept Rs115,000 as ransom and asked the victim's son to bring the money near Bilal Chowrangi, Korangi, where accused Shaukat Ali was arrested red-handed receiving the money. Later the accused led the police party to the house where Aslam Lodhi and his five workers - Asif Ali, Abdul Waheed, Mohammed Aslam, Mohammed Amir and Mohammed Rashid - were kept.
The police also arrested Zafar Iqbal and Ali Akbar on a lead given by accused Shaukat. Accused Muneer Ahmed, however, fled the scene, but he was also later arrested. One of their alleged accomplices, Mir Hasan, is still untraceable and he has been declared an absconder.
Identifying the accused, the two eye-witnesses deposed that their captors kept them trussed up with their mouths gagged. The state is being represented by special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa.