KARACHI, April 19: Two accused in a kidnapping for ransom case denied on Tuesday charges against them and stated that they were implicated due to personal enmity. Judge Arshad Noor Khan of the ATC-3 postponed the hearing after statements by Aziz Ullah and his elderly father-in-law Mohammad Dawood under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Aziz Ullah submitted that the complainant implicated him, his father-in-law and his five brothers due to family disputes.
The two arrested accused would record their extended statements on oath under Section 340 (2) CrPC and produce defence witnesses. The special public prosecutor would also cross-examine the accused and DWs.
Five brothers of accused Aziz Ullah - Habib Ullah Hameed Ullah, Naeem Ullah, Ahmed Shah and Rasheed – are absconders in the case.
The accused have been charged with the kidnapping of their own sister, wife of complainant Mohammed Ashraf and his six brothers, Mohammed Salim, Mohammed Naeem, Mohammed Iqbal, Mohammed Pervaiz, Mohammed Akhtar and Mohammed Yousuf in May last year in Shershah.
The hostages were allegedly kept at Khan Building, Shershah, and the accused allegedly demanded Rs2 million for their release. It was also alleged that the accused received Rs 500,000 from Mohammed Naeem, one of the complainant’s brothers, and they also made him hostage after receiving the money.
The two accused were arrested on May 23, 2004, after a shootout with the police. One of the alleged captors, Raheem Ullah, was also killed in the cross-fire.
The prosecution did not cite complainant’s wife, Sadaf, as a prosecution witness, apparently for her being the sister of the accused. Later, special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa moved an application under Section 540 of the Cr. P. C. for calling the woman as court witness.
However, the judge dismissed the application as it was withdrawn by the special prosecutor after an undertaking from the defence counsel that the complainant’s wife would not be called as defence witness either.
BLAST CASES: Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 put off hearing of Masjid Ali Raza bomb blast case against a worker of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
The judge fixed April 23 for the next hearing after an application seeking postponement of the hearing from the defence side.
It was stated in the application that defence counsel Mushtaq Ahmed could not appear before the court as he was out of Karachi. As many as 25 faithful were killed and 37 others injured on May 31 last year when a suicide bomber blew himself inside the Masjid Ali Raza at Old Numaish.
Gul Hasan, arrested on June 13, is stated to have been the mastermind of two bomb blasts at Haidery Mosque and Imambargah Ali Raza.