KARACHI, June 22: Two eye-witnesses identified the suspected mastermind of the bomb blasts at Hyderi and Ali Raza mosques before a judicial magistrate on Tuesday.
Eye-witnesses Syed Iqbal Hasan Shah and Mujahid Hussain Shah identified the suspect, Gul Hasan, lined up with dummies in the court of judicial magistrate Zahida Perveen Rahu.
The suspect, who is in a 14-day police custody, submitted to the court that both the witnesses had seen him many times in the police custody. Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism court recorded the statements of accused in two sectarian murder cases.
Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-V, who is conducting the trial inside Central Prison, fixed June 29 for hearing the final arguments from special public prosecutor Mazhar Qayyum and defence counsel M.R. Syed.
One of the cases pertained to the killing of Kazim Hussain Jaffery on March 21, 2002 in Mehmoodabad. Ataullah and Riaz are facing the charges. The same court recorded the statement of Ataullah and Mohammed Azam in a double murder case.
The case pertained to the murder of a prayer leader and his son in Gizri. Two Lashker-i-Jhangvi activists - Ataullah and Mohammed Azam - have been charged with the sectarian killing.
The prayer leader, Syed Razi Haider Najafi, and his son, Syed Abbas Ali, 15, were killed on Sept 12, 2001 around 7.45am when the accused opened fire on their car near Submarine Chowrangi.
Razi Haider's youngest son, Syed Mohammed Ali, was wounded in the incident. Denying their involvement in the cases, the accused deposed that they were implicated in the case by police.
GUDDU BIHARI: The district and session judge, Mohammed Javed Alam, heard the arguments on the bail application of Orangi Town Nazim and fixed June 23 for the pronouncement of the order.
Orangi Town Nazim Shahid Alam, also known as Guddu Bihari, was reportedly arrested just after his release on bail from jail on Friday last. The town nazim, being represented by Shahadat Awan advocate, was booked in two fresh cases by Pakistan Bazaar and Mominabad police.
One of the cases pertained to the seizure of a TT pistol from him and the other pertained to an attack on the house of acting town nazim. Guddu Bihari was initially arrested in February by the anti- corruption establishment.
Since then, he had been booked in five different cases. Subsequently, he got bail in all the cases. However, the police arrested him immediately after he was released on bail. His mother, Arisha Bano, sent telegrams to the Sindh High Court and other authorities seeking help for the release of her son.