KARACHI, Oct 24: An anti-terrorism court granted bail to another accused person in a doctor’s kidnap and murder case against a surety bond of Rs200,000 on Wednesday a week after two other accused had been remanded on bail for want of evidence.

Dr Ashok Kumar, who is said to be a quack, Farooq, Azhar Ali, Imdad Ali, Hath Khan, Mohammad Irfan and Abdul Aziz have been facing trial for kidnapping neurosurgeon Dr Aftab Qureshi near Taj Complex within the remit of the Brigade police station.

The doctor was killed in an exchange of fire between police and kidnappers during a police raid on the captors’ house in Hyderabad in May.

Abdul Aziz through his counsel moved a bail application in the court.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon granted him bail against the surety bond of Rs200,000.

The court observed that the investigating officer had not collected any solid evidence against the applicant. On Oct 17, the court had granted bail to Azhar and Imdad, ruling that the investigating officer remained unable to collect any concrete evidence against them. The officer admitted that he had not collected sufficient material against them, but he listed them as accused because DSP Abdullah Unar had also charge-sheeted them in a connected case.

According to the prosecution, Dr Qureshi was abducted near Taj Complex on May 12 and the kidnappers demanded Rs100 million in ransom. On May 30, a team of Citizens-Police Liaison Committee and Karachi’s Anti-Violence Crime Cell officials raided a house in Hyderabad for his recovery but he was killed in an exchange of fire between police and kidnappers. A policeman and a kidnapper were also killed in the incident, it added.

A case (FIR No 130/2012) was lodged under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 365-A (kidnapping for ransom) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act on a complaint of victim’s son.