*ATC to resume proceedings of Gullu Butt case today
*Butt apologises to PAT chief Dr Qadri over Model Town incident, accuses media for portraying him as a terrorist
Gullu Butt, the notorious character of the Model Town incident, on Monday apologised to Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.
Moreover, Butt retracted once again from his previous statements during a hearing in an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore, claiming that he had never smashed any vehicles and that the police was lying about his involvement.
During the hearing, Faisal Town Investigation In-charge Muhammad Ejaz Rasheed submitted his statement on the case, saying Butt had fired gunshots when policemen stopped him from vandalising cars.
He added that the shots fired by Butt had caused panic among the people, worsening the situation.
The bench asked the investigating officer if anyone was injured due to the firing or if any owner of the vandalised vehicles had submitted a complaint. Rasheed answered in negative to both the queries.
Subsequently, the court adjourned the hearing of the case until today (Tuesday) and directed the state television’s cameraman to submit footage of the incident.
Butt was arrested after he was caught on camera smashing the windows of private vehicles parked outside the Minhajul Quran Secretariat in Model Town during an operation carried out on June 17 by the government against alleged illegal barricades erected by the PAT.
Speaking to journalists after Monday’s hearing, Butt denied that he had broken any windows during the clashes.
“The media is my witness; police can say whatever they want to say; I have no enmity towards them,” he said.
On further questioning by a journalist, however, Butt admitted to destroying only two windows. “The number of windows I broke has been exaggerated. I only broke two windows,” Butt said assuredly.
He also claimed that the baton presented in court did not belong to him.
Butt said he was not the first person to have smashed the windows of cars, adding that such incidents had occurred in the past as well but no cases were initiated.
Commenting on his public image, Butt said that everyone ‘loved’ him. “People meet me with love and respect and it is the media which has damaged my reputation,” he said.
“I am a loving person and people meet me with respect. It is not my fault that the media is portraying me as a terrorist. I am not a terrorist,” Butt added.
