Anti-Terrorism Courts Karachi Administrative Judge Justice Maqbool Baqar on Wednesday ordered the release of the two men accused of attacking a police van in Chakra Goth last month. Baqar handed out the verdict on the report of the investigation officer (IO) handling the case and on the report of the complainant on behalf of the state.
Four police officials were killed and 27 seriously injured in the deadly police van attack. Despite assuring the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Karachi police neither mentioned the names of arrested suspects Kamran Madhuri, Sohail Commando and Abu Bashar Bangali in the Chakra Goth police van attack case. Instead, the Zaman Town police on Wednesday produced Madhuri and Commando before the court in another case of the Chakra Goth violence and a murder case.
IO Inspector Sohail Ahmed Khan produced before the court the accused Abdul Hakeem and Atif alias Asif who, according to the earlier claim of the police, were arrested on the spot with weapons in the case of the Chakra Goth police van attack. Khan submitted his report and said both the accused had been proven innocent according to his investigation; therefore, the court could release them as per the Pakistan Code of Criminal Procedure’s section 169 (release of accused when evidence deficient).
The complainant on behalf of the state, Sub-Inspector (SI) Hanif Abbasi, told the court that when the incident took place, a complaint was lodged and a memo of arrest of the accused and recovery of weapons prepared, but the procedure was completed in his absence and he had signed all the documents on the orders of Zaman Town Station House Officer (SHO) Syed Shakir Ali to save his job.
On the stance of the two police officers, Justice Baqar released both the accused and ordered Karachi Capital City Police Officer Saud Mirza to hold an inquiry against the Zaman Town SHO for lodging a fake First Information Report, preparing false memos of arrest and recovery of arms and false implication of the accused in the case, and to submit a report within 15 days.
The Chakra Goth incident took place on August 19, the complaint was lodged late that night on behalf of the state by SI Abbasi and the police obtained the remand of the accused on August 22.
The counsel for the accused Atif had produced some documents of the Chiniot General Hospital in Korangi, claiming that Atif was under treatment when the incident took place.
The court had handed over these documents to IO Khan to verify them.
On Wednesday, the IO submitted a report before the court and said the documents were genuine and he had verified their authenticity.
