GILGIT, Aug 4: Police have accused an already-convicted prisoner for murdering a Northern Areas Anti-Terrorism Court Judge, Jamshed Khan Jadoon, in a Gilgit park in June. He had been under trial in another case being heard by the same judge.

Northern Areas Inspector General of Police Sarmad Saeed Khan told newsmen here on Friday that Naveed, resident of Bargu village, had been serving a seven-year jail term for torching a police station in Sharoot village, 25km west of Gilgit, during the January 8 sectarian strife. Besides, Naveed was also the prime suspect in the murder of a retired army serviceman during the strife and was under trial at the Northern Areas Anti-terrorism Court of Jamshed Khan Jadoon, he added.

Fearing that he would be hanged in the murder case, Naveed planned to murder the ATC judge, he said, adding that he would often get out of the Jutial Sub Jail where he was confined, in connivance with jail warden Sultan, who happened to be his uncle, as well as another jail official Abbas.

Naveed, the IG said, monitored the movements of the judge for quite some time and killed him as soon as he found an opportunity.

The accused remained untraced for some time, but on the basis of the sketches produced by the experts of Karachi’s Citizens-Police Liaison Committee and CID Lahore, and subsequent interrogation of some witnesses, the police identified Naveed as the culprit, he said. The weapon of offence had also been recovered, he added.

The police chief said cases had been registered against the jail officials who helped the culprit.