- Jail officials tell ATC judge former Malir SSP could not be produced in court due to ‘deteriorating health conditions’
KARACHI: Suspended SSP Rao Anwar on Wednesday failed to appear before the anti-terrorism court (ATC) in a case pertaining to the extrajudicial murder of aspirant fashion model Naqeebullah Mehsud due to “deteriorating health conditions”.
During the hearing, the jail authorities submitted Rao Anwar’s medical certificate to the court, claiming that Rao Anwar has fallen sick and a doctor had come to check him up. The court, expressing its displeasure on Anwar’s absence, directed the police officials to produce him at the next hearing. The judge warned that the doctor who issued the health certificate for Anwar could be summoned to the court if Anwar is not brought on May 14.
The court also expressed its displeasure over the absence of the investigation officer (IO) of the case, SSP Dr Rizwan, and ordered him to appear before the court and submit a report on the measures taken so far to arrest other accused nominated in the case.
Family members and friends of Naqeebullah Mehsud staged a protest demonstration outside the court, demanding full justice. “Rao Anwar is not ill but cunning; he is hiding behind a health certificate. We will bring the entire country to a standstill with our protest if Rao Anwar is not brought handcuffed on the next hearing,” said a relative of the deceased.
The court then adjourned the hearing till May 14.
On April 21, the court sent Rao Anwar to jail on judicial remand till May 2.
Anwar, who surrendered before the Supreme Court last month, was produced before the ATC after expiry of his one-month physical remand.
Police had requested the judge to send the sacked police officer and another suspect Shakeel Feroze to jail on judicial remand as their custody was no longer needed for investigation.
Reports say the five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed on directives of the apex court to inquire into the death of Naqeeb in a fake encounter, has completed the probe.
In his statement to the JIT, the suspended police officer is said to have blamed his two subordinates for the murder in a staged encounter, which caused a wave of anger and protests.
Earlier, Anwar expressed his lack of trust over the JIT constituted to investigate the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, 27, in a fake police encounter led by him in Karachi.
Rao Anwar through a petition filed in the Supreme Court sought inclusion of the officials of intelligence agencies in the investigation team.
Rao surrendered himself before the Supreme Court on March 21. The court had ordered formation of a JIT of five members led by Additional Inspector General of Sindh Police Aftab Pathan, also comprises of AIG Walliullah Dal, DIG of Karachi South Azad Ahmed Khan, DIG Karachi East Zulfikar Larik and SSP Dr Rizwan.
Rao in his petition submitted to the court through advocate Shamim ur Rehman Malik said that according to the section 19 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, the JIT must be comprised of officers from the police, Intelligence agencies, armed forces and civil armed forces, but the team constituted by the court was comprised of the police officers of the Sindh police department. Such a team by law could only be accepted as an investigation team rather than the JIT, the petitioner said.
He claimed that the investigation team has deprived him of his right of defence and that has led to his lack of trust in the impartiality of the team. Hence, the petition said, reconstitution of the JIT team in accordance with the spirit of Section 19 of the ATA, 1997, was the only remedy.
Naqeebullah Mehsud, whose name was given as Naseemullah on his national identity card, was a shop owner fond of modelling. Hailing from South Waziristan, he was among four suspects killed in an ‘encounter’ with a police team headed by Rao Anwar in the Usman Khaskheli Goth on the outskirts of the metropolis in January 2018.
Anwar had alleged that Naqeebullah was a Tehreek-e-Taliban militant, but the victim’s family had disputed the claim, saying that the 27-year-old had no links with any militant organisation. In January, an inquiry team of senior police officers investigating the extrajudicial killing had found that the Waziristan native was killed in a fake encounter which was staged by then-Malir SSP on January 13.
