KARACHI, Feb 10: An anti-terrorism court on Friday indicted three suspects in the Shershah scrap market carnage case.

Lal Mohammad Magsi, Shafi Mohammad and Aslam Pervez, said to be associated with one of the several criminal gangs operating in Lyari, have been charged with carrying out the Shershah scrap market carnage on Oct 19, 2010 that left 12 people dead.

Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of the ATC-I read out the charges against them.

The judge said that on Oct 19, 2010 at about 5.30pm the accused along with their absconding accomplices armed with deadly weapons came to the Shershah scrap market on motorcycles and demanded protection money from shopkeepers. They therefore committed an offence defined under Section 6 and punishable under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (ATA) read with Section 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

“On the abovementioned date, time and place, in furtherance of your common intention you accused Lal Mohammad Magsi, Shafi Mohammad and Aslam Pervez along with absconding accused Hameed alias Mulla Raju, Noor Mohammad alias Baba Ladla, Rasheed and Imdad while coming in the market started demanding bhatta and upon refusal you accused committed the murder of Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Arif, Amjad Ali, Zubair, Umair, Irshad, Mansoor, Nasir, Kashif, Tariq, Anis and Ghulam Rasool. Thereby you committed an offence punishable under Section 7 (a) of Anti-terrorism Act, 1997, r/w 302 of PPC, within the cognizance of this court,” the judge said.

He also read out another offence committed under Section 324 (attempted murder) of the PPC against the accused.

However, the accused pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the case.

Subsequently, the court summoned the prosecution witnesses and directed them to record their testimonies on Feb 28.

According to the prosecution, the accused along with their accomplices were booked for allegedly extorting money and opening indiscriminate fire in the market that left 12 people dead and several others wounded.

Lal Mohammad Magsi was arrested on Nov 12 while the remaining two accused were apprehended on Dec 22, 2010.

A case (FIR No 578/2010) was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324, 386 and 34 (common intention) of the PPC and Section 7 of the ATA at the Pak Colony police station on a complaint of a survivor, Mohammad Nafees.

It is worth noting here that on Jan 26, 2011 the administrative judge of the ATCs released nine other suspects in the present case under Section 497 (2) of the criminal procedure code since the complainant who nominated the suspects in the FIR failed to identify any of them before the court and other eyewitness were also not ready to identify them. Besides this, the investigation officer was unable to produce any material to link them with the alleged offence.