KARACHI, Sept 29: The Supreme Court issued on Monday notices to the accused police officers of the Lyari Task Force in an appeal moved by the state against the quashment of a murder case against them.
The appeal filed by Sindh Prosecutor-General Shahadat Awan said police superintendents Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam and Umar Shahid and inspectors Ishaq Lashari, Nasirul Hasan, Baharuddin Dawar and others were booked for murder of Rasul Bux Brohi, who was allegedly killed by them as notorious dacoit Mashooq Brohi in a fake encounter to earn out-of-turn promotions and awards. According to the prosecution, Rasul Bux was allegedly arrested at Sakrand, Nawabshah district, and was brought to Karachi.
The wife and parents of the deceased Rasul Bux Brohi recognized his body and said he was not Mashooq Brohi, who carried a cash award on his head. They said the police had cooked up a story to cover up custodial death by torture. An FIR was registered by the Sakrand police station and the case was tried by the district and sessions judge of Nawabshah.
While the case was being tried and the application of the accused for acquittal under Section 265-K of the criminal procedure code was still pending before the trial court, the accused moved the Sindh High Court for the quashment of the proceedings. A single judge of the high court quashed the case and acquitted all 50 accused.
In his brief submissions, the prosecutor-general said that among other grounds, the appellate court relied on the DNA report. The report, however, was in the prosecution’s favour. Whatever the name given by the police to the deceased, his parents and wife recognized him as Rasul Bux Brohi. Only one of the 56 prosecution witnesses had been examined by the trial court and the application for acquittal for lack of evidence was still pending. The high court quashed the case not only against those facing trial but also against those who had absconded. In any case, according to another police team, the real Mashooq Brohi was killed in an encounter in December 2007, the prosecutor-general said, seeking reversal of the impugned judgment.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari, Syed Zawwar Hussain Jaffery and Sarmad Jalal Osmany admitted the appeal for hearing and issued notices to all the 50 members of the task force.
Land auction
The Sindh High Court barred the Sindh Alkalis liquidator on Monday from auctioning about 1250 acres of land claimed to have been owned by the liquidated public sector concern.
The land is situated at Deh Rehri, Deh Kandiaro and Thatta. Sindh Alkalis had been purchased by businessman Abdul Qadir Memon at auction conducted by the SHC official assignee as official liquidator. The successful bid amounted to Rs462 million but the bidder maintained that it included the price of the land ‘attached’ to the concern. The official liquidator moved an application for renewal of the lease. Justice Nadeem Azhar Siddiui, who heard the application, issued a notice to the provincial board of revenue and other parties to the case.
Appearing on behalf of the board of revenue, Advocate M. Ahmed Pirzada submitted that the land claimed by M/s Sindh Alkalis was, in fact, state land owned by the provincial government. According to the revenue record, it was leased out to Sindh Alkalis. Except for 68-acre piece of land, the lease for which had been renewed for another 30 years, the ownership of the rest of the land claimed by the liquidated concern had reverted to the provincial land. The concern could not even seek renewal of the expired lease as a matter of right. In any case, the land could not be transferred to the new owner.
Dismissing the application, the court held the land belonged to the provincial government and the board of revenue was not bound to renew the lease.
Date extended
Justice Khwaja Naveed Ahmed, meanwhile, extended time for submission of a charge-sheet in a kidnapping-for-ransom case till October 6. Only one of the seven accused had been arrested while the rest, including the son of a senator, are absconding. The case is being tried by an anti-terrorism court.
The investigation officer told Justice Ahmed, SHC administrative judge for the Karachi division’s anti-terrorism courts, that he needed more time to submit a challan before the trial court and the judge allowed the request.
The accused in custody is Yasin Ghani, son of Ehsan Ghani, a car showroom owner. The other accused are: Ataur Rehman Mengal, son of Naseer Ahmed Mengal, Muhammad Iqbal, Inayatullah Mengal, Naimatullah, Farhad and Kamal Khan.
They were booked in an FIR lodged by Pervez Ahmed Siddiqui, father of Farooq Ahmed Siddiqui, who was allegedly kidnapped by the accused for ransom from outside his residence at A-152, Block 12, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Karachi, on July 14, 2008.
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