KARACHI, July 6: An anti-terrorism court remanded on Friday six suspects in judicial custody in a doctor’s kidnapping and murder case.

Neurosurgeon Dr Aftab Qureshi was abducted within the remit of the Brigade police station on May 12 and killed on May 30 in an exchange of fire after a police team raided the captors’ house in Hyderabad.

Following the expiry of their physical remand, the police produced the six suspects — Dr Ashok Kumar, said to be a quack, Farooq, Azhar Ali, Imdad Ali, Hath Khan and Abdul Aziz — before the ATC-1 on Friday.

Judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso of the ATC-1 sent the suspects to jail on judicial remand till July 16 and directed the investigation officer to file a charge-sheet on the next date.

According to the prosecution, Dr Qureshi was kidnapped on M.A. Jinnah Road near Taj Complex and the kidnappers demanded a ransom for his safe release.

The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee and the Anti-Violent Crime Cell jointly raided a house in Hyderabad for the recovery of the captive, but he was killed during an exchange of gunfire between the police and kidnappers. An assistant sub-inspector of the police and a captor were also killed in the shootout, it added.

A case (FIR 130/12) was lodged under Sections 365-A (kidnapping for ransom) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 on a complaint of the victim’s son. Later, Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the PPC was also incorporated in the FIR.

The same set of suspects along with their accomplices have also been booked in another case (FIR 176/12) under Sections 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324 (attempted murder) and 302 of the PPC read with Section 7 of the ATA at the Bhitai Nagar police station for allegedly attacking the raiding police team and killing a personnel.

KBA meeting today

The leadership of the Karachi Bar Association has called an emergency general body meeting on Saturday at Shuhada-i-Punjab Hall in the city courts to discuss and chalk-out a future course of action on proposed bills about the contempt of court law and holding dual nationalities.

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