KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday directed the senior superintendent of police (SSP) Malir Rao Anwar and other officials to file their respective replies on the petition of a former SSP seeking recovery of his son, a sub-inspector with the Anti-Encroachment Force (AEF), who was allegedly kidnapped and illegally confined by the respondents.

A two-judge bench, headed by Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui, also issued notice to the advocate general and put off the hearing to April 15.

Petitioner Niaz Khoso, recently retired after serving police for 36 years, submitted in his petition that his son Mehrab was kidnapped near Bahria Town on March 28, 2017 when they were coming back from Sukkur.

He submitted that SSP Rao along with 20 to 25 other armed men came in an armoured personnel carrier and six police vehicles and whisked his son away forcibly. The former SSP alleged that SSP Rao also threatened him of dire consequences before leaving the scene.

The petitioner said that later, the district and sessions judge, Malir, on his application directed the SHO of Gadap police station to lodge an FIR against Rao Anwar and his team members.

Explaining the reasons behind alleged criminal intimidation of his son, Khosa stated that his son, Sub-Inspector Mehrab Khan, along with other AEF staff, had gone to conduct a raid on the orders of the director of AEF in the limits of Sachal police station for removal of encroachments from state land in Scheme 33 and arrest of the suspects named in the FIRs registered against land-grabbers under anti-encroachment laws.

He submitted that the police team of AEF consisting of SHOs of AEF police stations Zone I and Zone II approached the area DSP, Khalid Khan, and SHO Sachal Inspector Nasir Afridi for police assistance in their anti-encroachment operation.

However, the two police officials not only refused to extend any assistance, but got the anti-encroachment operation stopped with the connivance of the land-grabbers who were named in the FIRs.

Citing the home secretary, provincial police chief, additional IGP headquarters, SSP Rao, Gadap SHO, and others as respondents, the petitioner submitted that he and his family were apprehensive of his son’s life. He prayed to the court to direct them to produce him in court.

Information secretary’s bail extended

The Sindh High Court on Wednesday extended the pre-arrest bail granted to former provincial information secretary Zulfiqar Shalwani and other co-accused persons in a multibillion rupee corruption reference against Pakistan Peoples Party leader and former provincial information minister Sharjeel Inam Memon for allegedly committing corruption in the award of advertisements of provincial government’s awareness campaigns in electronic media involving over Rs5 billion.

All 11 accused persons, including the former provincial minister, have obtained pre-arrest bail in the case that pertained to corruption and corrupt practices in the advertisement awareness campaigns on TV and FM channels between July 2013 and June 2015. It was found that the accused acted in connivance with each other resulting in a loss of Rs3,279,177,029 to the national exchequer.

The bench extended the pre-arrest bail of Mr Shalwani and the accused persons till May 3 ordering the defence counsel and prosecutor of the National Accountability Bureau to forward their respective arguments on the matter at the next date of hearing.

Earlier, the court had granted pre-arrest bail to Sharjeel Memon till April 17.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2017