Two suspects allegedly involved in the violence in Chakra Goth and the attack on a police van were identified in court on Monday by five witnesses and the complainant of the case. Kamran Madhuri and Sohail Commando were recognised during an identification parade before the court of the judicial magistrate (JM)-East. According to the prosecution, Madhuri and Commando among other accomplices had initiated violence in a locality and then attacked a police van in Chakra Goth. In the first incident, two people were murdered and seven more injured, while miscreants had also torched five vehicles and looted shops. In the other incident, a public bus transporting police personnel was fired at, in which four policemen were killed and 27 more injured.
On Monday, the investigation officer (IO) of the case filed an application regarding identification of the accused in the court of JM-East Haleem Ahmed Memon. He prayed that remand of Madhuri and Commando had been obtained from an anti-terrorism court and the case’s complainant wants to identify the suspects. The court allowed the IO’s application and arranged an identification parade, where the complainant and four other witnesses identified the accused and held them responsible for the incident.
It is worth noting that the two suspects were included in the case on Supreme Court’s directives, as earlier the police, despite arresting them on August 22, had neither produced them in any court nor inducted their names in both the cases.
However, the police authorities on August 23 had officially announced the arrest of the two accused along with another suspect Abu Bashar Bangali in the Chakra Goth police van case. The news relating to the matter were published in almost all newspapers and aired on television channels as well.
Moreover, on a query in the Supreme Court, the Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) admitted that the suspects were in custody, but their names had not been nominated in any cases.
The IGP had assured the apex court at that time that the persons’ names would be included in the Chakra Goth violence case. Three more suspects in the same case – Mohsin, Subhan and Abu Bashar Bangali – were booked and arrested for violence in Chakra Goth.
The case complainant had nominated more than 30 workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in the case, stating in the petition that on the day of the incident, he was at home when suddenly over 50 armed activists entered the locality and opened indiscriminate fire.
The complainant also claimed that the assailants opened fire at his house as well, resulting in the death of two guests, Muhammad Hassan and Muhammad Salman.
Later, a case of murder, attempted murder incorporated with the Anti-Terrorist Act (ATA) was registered at the Zaman Town police station.
Police registered seven First Information Reports for both the incidents against the accused under sections 147, 148, 149, 435, 436, 324 (attempted murder), 427, 302 (permitted murder), 365 and 13-D (possessing illegal weapons) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with article 7 of the ATA 1997.
