KARACHI, Jan 26: An anti-terrorism court acquitted on Wednesday an alleged worker of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi in a police mobile van attack case.
Judge Aley Maqbool Rizvi of the ATC-1 exonerated Shaikh Mohammad Ahmed alias Daniyal from charges while giving him benefit of doubt.
The accused, who was arrested on July 16, 2002, was tried for hurling an explosive device on a police patrol on Oct 12, 2001 in Liaquatabad. The Supermarket police had registered the case initially against two unknown culprits, who had fled the scene immediately after the incident.
Constables Basharat Ali and Yaqeen Ali and passers by Mohammed Nadim and Bahadur Ali were injured in the blast. According to prosecution, a mobile van was patrolling the area and when it reached near Dakkhana Chowrangi on Altaf Barelvi Road around 11:50pm, two motorcyclists threw explosive on it.
According to prosecution, Daniyal confessed to have been involved in the case when he was interrogated after his arrest. The identification parade of the accused, conducted by Judicial Magistrate Allah Juriyo Parihar, was defective as magistrate neither prepared any list of dummies, nor did he introduce himself to the accused as required by the law.
In his 34-page verdict, Judge Rizvi observed: "From the perusal of the evidence available on record, there are contradictions and material defects in the confessional statement of the accused as well as the identification parade and, therefore, the case against the accused could not be proved by the prosecution".
Earlier on May 18, last year, the same court had acquitted Shaikh Mohammad Ahmed Daniyal in another police mobile van attack case. According to prosecution, two motorcyclists lobbed an explosive device on a police mobile van of the Jamshed Quarters police station near Karzaz on the main Sharea Faisal around 12:25am on October 23, 2001.
The main piece of the evidence in this case against Daniyal was also the identification parade during which the injured cops identified him as the person who had lobbed the grenade.
The court, however, observed that it was humanly impossible to recognise a person in a span of four seconds in the darkness of night, especially when the person is not previously known to those who claimed to have identified him.
Shaikh Mohammad Ahmed Daniyal is stated to be a worker of either banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi or banned Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Aalmi. However, nothing has so far been brought on record which could establish his affiliation to any banned outfit.
Earlier on February 15, 2004, Judge Feroze Mehmood Bhatti had sentenced Daniyal to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 14 years in a bomb blast case. He was found guilty of having planted two explosives devices in a building, where the members of the Ismaili community were holding the function of their spiritual leader.
One of the devices exploded, injuring a few people and damaging some motorcycles. The Pirabad police had initially registered the case against unknown culprits on Dec 13, 2001.
MASJID ALI CASE: Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 put off the hearing of the Masjid Ali Raza bomb blast case against a worker of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi after recording the statements of five prosecution witnesses.
The judge fixed Feb 1 for the next hearing after special public prosecutor examined five injured victims of the blast - Roshan Ali, Mohammed Taqi, Hasan Ali, Abid Ali and Hasan Abbas, who were also cross-examined by defence counsel Mushtaq Ahmed.
As many as 23 faithful had been killed and 37 others injured on May 31 this year when a suicide bomber blew himself inside the Masjid Ali Raza, located at the Old Numaish.,
Accused Gul Hasan, arrested on June 13, is stated to have been the mastermind of bomb blasts at Haideri Mosque and Imambargah Ali Raza. He is alleged to have planned the attacks with absconding accused that included Asif Chuto and Mufti Obaid.
SENTENCED: The additional district and sessions judge, South, Ms Sher Bano Karim, sentenced a reckless minibus driver to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years.
Ahmed Yar was found guilty of having knocked down Ghulam Abbas, a passerby, on Oct 23, 2004, in Frere police limits. The judge also ordered him to pay a compensation equivalent to the value of 30,630 grams of silver as Diyat to the legal heirs of his victim. He will have to undergo an additional one-year term in case he defaults on the payment.
Besides, the additional district and sessions judge, East, Ms Akhtar A. Chaudhry, sentenced a robber to suffer RI for five years. The judge also imposed a fine of Rs1,000 on Mohammad Naeem alias Rizwan, who had committed the robbery in the house of Masood Hasan Siddiqui on Feb 27, 2003 in Mubina Town police precincts.