FAISALABAD, July 18: Additional District and Sessions Judge Shahid Rafiq on Thursday adjourned for July 25 the hearing of the bail application of the 30 accused, involved in the killing of a man in a Chak Jhumra village, as the prosecution failed to produce the record of the case.
The accused were arrested on July 5 after the residents of Chak No 103 (Barnala) stunned Zahid Shah to death for allegedly desecrating the Holy Quran. They jointly filed the bail application on July 13.
A police inspector informed the court that the complete record and the file of the case had been summoned by a committee comprising Punjab chief secretary, home secretary and Inspector-General of police.
The court was informed that the district police officer had left Faisalabad with the record to apprise the committee of the investigation, evidence leading to the involvement of the accused, statement of eyewitnesses and the motive behind the killing of Zahid Shah.
The prosecution sought adjournment of the case on the grounds that the file and record was with the special committee, holding inquiry into the incident.
Accused counsel Mian Farooq Israr insisted that the court should decide the bail application.
The court expressed its inability to proceed further in the absence of the record pertaining to the incident of the case.
Later, with the consent of the prosecution and accused counsel, the case was adjourned.
Hundreds of the residents of the village, relatives of the accused and local lawyers were present in the court room.
REMAND OEXTENDED: A judicial magistrate on Thursday extended two-day remand of three accused, including a prayer leader, involved in attacking an American former navy engineer and issuing decree for his murder in Jaranwala.
Hafiz Abdul Latif, Mazhar Hussain and Zubair Usman were presented before court amid tight security after the expiry of their four-day remand. A large number of religious workers and villagers were also present outside court.
The prosecution requested to court for the extension of another four-day remand, but the judge granted only two-day remand for the completion of inquiry after detailed arguments.
The counsel for the accused opposed the demand of the prosecution contending that no recovery was involved in this case and the police was employing negative tactics just to please their “master”. The accused had not committed the crime and that they were implicated in a false case, he said.
This was not a case of sectarian nature or opposing the Americans, but the complainant and witnesses were bent upon to grab the land of a mosque and residences of one of the accused which they had purchased by spending huge money, the defence counsel claimed.
Mazhar Hussain, the main accused, also submitted to court that he was innocent and the so-called US navy engineer had staged a drama of issuing any “decree” for killing him. The complainant and witnesses under a planned conspiracy got registered cases against them just to convince the US for getting immigration, he added.