KARACHI: The administrative judge of antiterrorism courts remanded on Saturday six police officials in police custody in the Naqeeb Ullah Mehusd murder case.

The then Senior Superintendent of Police (Malir), Rao Anwar Ahmed Khan, and 14 other police officials have been named absconders for allegedly killing the 24-year-old in a staged encounter on Jan 13 in Shah Latif Town.

The SSP-Investigation (Malir), Abid Ali Qaimkhani, who is investigating the case, produced sub-inspector Mohammad Yasin, assistant sub-inspectors Supurd Hussain and Allahyar, head constables Khizar Hayat and Mohammad Iqbal and constable Arshad Ali before the administrative judge for remand.

The investigating officer informed the court that the suspects were arrested on Jan 26. The IO sought their custody for two weeks for their identification parade before a judicial magistrate through two eyewitnesses, arrest of absconders and further investigations.

The IO further submitted that during initial questioning the detained suspects disclosed that they were part of a team which killed the Naqeeb Ullah Mehusd in a fake shootout and their absconding accomplices were also involved in the extrajudicial killing.

The administrative judge handed the suspects over to police on physical remand till Jan 31 and directed the IO to produce them again along with a progress report at the next hearing.

Besides, Rao Anwar, the then SHO of the Shah Latif Town sub-inspector Amanullah Marwat, SHO of SITE Superhighway sub-inspector Anar Khan, head constable Faisal, constables Ghulam Nazakat, Abdul Ali and Shafiq Ahmed of the SITE Superhighway police station, ASI Gada Hussain, head constables Sadaqat Ali and Mohsin Abbasi and constables Raja Shamim and Rana Riaz Ahmed of Shah Latif Town police station and ASI Ali Akbar Mallah and constables Imran Kazmi and Raees Abbas of the Abbas Town police post are shown absconders in the remand paper.

According to the remand paper, Naseem Ullah Mehusd, aka Naqeeb Ullah Mehusd, hailing from North Waziristan Agency, was picked up along with his two friends on Jan 3 near a hotel on Abul Hassan Isfahani Road by eight to nine plain-clothes subordinates of Rao Anwar.

The other two detainees were set free on Jan 6 while the whereabouts of Mehusd remained unknown and his cell phone was also found powered off as the former SSP allegedly kept him in wrongful detention, it added.

It further stated in the remand paper that on Jan 17, the relatives of captive came to know through media that Rao Anwar and his associates allegedly killed Mehusd and three others in a staged encounter in Shah Latif Town, adding that the provincial police officer had constituted a three-member inquiry committee, comprising seniors police officials, to probe into the incident and the committee found Rao Anwar and his associates involved in the case.

After the staged encounter on Jan 13, the police had described Mehusd and three other deceased as ‘Taliban militants’ and also registered a case against them under Sections 353 (criminal assault to deter public servant from discharge his duty), 324 (attempt to commit murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Sections ¾ of the Explosives Substances Act, 1908 read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the Shah Latif Town police station.

A case against Rao Anwar and his associates was registered on Jan 23 under sections 302 (premeditated murder), 365 (kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 344 (wrongful confinement for ten or more day), 109 (abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the PPC read with Section 7 of the ATA on the complaint of the deceased’s father Mohammad Khan at the Sachal police station.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2018