ATC orders Rao Anwar’s arrest by Feb 16 at any cost

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism judge on Wednesday directed the investigation officer of Naqeebullah Mehsood murder case to arrest and produce the then Malir Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar by February 16.

The police produced Sub-Inspector Muhammad Yaseen, Assistant Sub-Inspectors Allah Yar and Supurd Hussain, Head Constables Khizar Hayat and Muhammad Iqbal, and policeman Arshad Ali before the court amid tightened security.

Four of these namely ASI Allah Yar, Head Constable Iqbal, Constable Arshad Ali and Hazrat Hayat who allegedly took part in Naqeebullah’s murder retracted their statements before the court and said that they did not play any part in his murder. After this, the court sent all of them to prison on judicial remand and sought progress report on the next hearing.

The policemen were arrested on Jan 26 and had been in police custody for interrogation.

The then Malir SSP Rao Anwar and several other policemen are absconders in the murder case of Naqeebullah, who was gunned down in a ‘staged encounter’ on Jan 14.

It should be noted here that two witnesses had successfully identified three out of six arrested policemen during the identification parade before the judicial magistrate of Malir. The witnesses said that they had been taken into custody along with Neqeebullah where they were tortured and released. It was later that they were informed about Naqeebullah’s death in an ‘encounter’, they added.

The eyewitnesses’ statements were sealed by the court which agreed to hold another identity parade after the hearing on February 16 on the request of the police.

The case was registered at Sachal police station under sections 302 (premeditated murder), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 344 (wrongful confinement for ten or more days), 109 (punishment of abetment if the Act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.