KARACHI, Jan 31: An accountability court ordered on Saturday release of a former deputy director of the defunct Karachi Metropolitan Corporation after accepting his plea bargaining.
The official, Hazoor Bux Kalhoro, was booked and arrested for amassing wealth and raising assets beyond his known sources of income.
Judge Mrs Qaiser Iqbal of the AC-1, who is also administrative judge of all ACs in Karachi, ordered the release of Mr Kalhoro after he returned Rs15 million to the state.
INDICTED: An anti-terrorism court indicted a man in a sectarian murder case.
Judge Feroze Mehmood Bhatto of the AC-2 fixed Feb 12 for recording the statements of the prosecution witness after the indictment of Imtiaz Hussain Jafferi, who pleaded not guilty.
The accused was charged with the murder of Junaid Iqbal on Aug 5, 2003 within the Gulbahar police limits.
According to the prosecution, the victim was sitting at a medical store in Firdous Colony when Imtiaz Jafferi and Yawer Abbas came there on a motorbike and opened fire. The two fled after targeting Junaid Iqbal.
Later, Imtiaz Jaffery was arrested and accused Yawer Abbas, who remained untraceable, was declared as an absconder.
KIDNAPPING FOR RANSOM: Judge Haq Nawaz Baloch of the ATC-5 fixed Feb 12 for hearing the final arguments in a kidnapping for ransom case against three accused, including a son of a senior superintendent of police.
Asif Hussain Junejo, son of SSP Mumtaz Junejo, Alauddin Jenejo, son of Roshan Junejo (a town nazim of Sanghar), and Rustum Haider - with their specific roles.
The case pertained to the kidnapping of a 20-year-old man, who remained captive for 52 days and was released on payment of Rs7 million in ransom.
The three accused were arrested on Nov 1, while five other accused - Natasha alias Sonia, Zeeshan alias Burger, Abu Sufiyan, Haji Mashooq Brohi and Rafique Jatt, son of Dawood Jatt - have been declared absconders by the court.
Syed Raza Abbas Zaidi was allegedly kidnapped on Aug 30 near the Country Club Apartments, Seaview, where he had gone to meet Natasha on her request. The woman had allegedly called the victim on his cellular phone. Next day the victim's maternal uncle, Mansoor Javed, lodge an FIR against unknown kidnappers at the Darakhshan police station.
According to the prosecution, Rustum with absconding accused Zeeshan, Abu Sufiyan and Rafique Jatt kidnapped Syed Raza Abbas as he waited for the woman. The kidnappers also took away the victim's car and later abandoned it in the limits of the Buffer Zone police.
The kidnappers initially demanded 20 million in ransom for the release of Raza. However, they agreed to release him for a ransom of Rs7 million after a series of negotiations with the family.