KARACHI, Nov 18: An anti-terrorism court on Tuesday recorded the statement of a judicial magistrate in a kidnapping for ransom and murder case of a customs clearing agent.

Suhrab Khan was murdered after he was kidnapped in the limits of Gulbahar police limits on June 21.

Syed Mohsin Raza alias Javed, Syed Adnan Raza, Nazia and, the wife of Mohsin, Shazia, were the accused in the case.

The judicial magistrate, Sarah Junejo, told the court that she recorded the confessional statement of Nazia under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code after completing all legal formalities.

She said that the accused in her statement said that her associates had forced her to call the deceased and when he arrived they overpowered him and kidnapped him for ransom and collected the money from a friend of his. However, one of the male accused shot dead the victim after exchanging hot words with him.

The defence counsel, Mushtaq Ahmed, would cross-examine the judicial magistrate on Wednesday (Nov 19).

According to the prosecution, the alleged kidnappers demanded Rs80,000 for Suhrab’s release, but allegedly shot him dead after collecting the ransom and his body was found in his car (ANY-650) parked in the Gulbahar area on the next day of kidnapping.

On July 22, the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) acting on a tip-off raided a place in the Super Market area and arrested the suspects.

The investigation officer said in the charge-sheet that the co-accused, Nazia, worked in a showroom in North Karachi and developed contacts with the victim over the telephone and later, she introduced him to her friend, Shazia.

The two women got him to come to a house at Talib Colony in Liaquatabad where the accused overpowered him and demanded ransom for his release, it added.

Meanwhile the same court on Tuesday recorded final arguments from the defence counsel in a kidnapping for ransom case of a five-year-old boy and his driver who was later killed in October 2007.

Nisar Ahmed, Shahzad Masih, and Munir Masih were charged with kidnapping Mohammad Rehan and his driver Irfan along with the vehicle on Oct 2, 2007 in the limits of the Frere police station. They demanded Rs500,000 for their release.

Later, after receiving the money, they released the boy but allegedly killed the driver.

The defence argued that the prosecution failed to establish the case against their clients by maintaining that the police did not record the statement of the kidnapped boy. It maintained that the prosecution witnesses rather than the victim were asked to identify the accused during the identification parade.

They submitted that there were glaring contradictions in the statements of prosecution witnesses and pleaded for the acquittal of the accused.

The special public prosecutor, Mohammad Khan Buriro, would present his final arguments on Wednesday.

A case (FIR No.222/07) was registered under Sections 365-A and 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the accused on the complaint of one Shahid.

Acting on a tip-off, police conducted a raid in the limits of the Mehmoodabad police station on Oct 10, 2007 and arrested the accused.