KARACHI: Police have failed to arrest suspects allegedly involved in the killing of an army officer during an apparent armed robbery bid despite issuance of directives by court since February 2020, it has emerged.

Major Saqib Iqbal was allegedly killed during an armed robbery on main M.A. Jinnah Road on June 7, 2018.

Police had booked two suspects, M. Noman, alias Maru; and Umar Farooq, alias Babu, who were arrested in connection with another case pertaining to possessing illicit arms and explosives, for allegedly murdering the army officer.

However, the antiterrorism court-II acquitted the duo on Feb 14, 2019 after the investigating officer of the case had stated that during investigation it was found that they were not involved in the murder.

The IO had submitted an investigation report recommending to the court to dispose of the case in ‘A’ class. A-class reports pertain to those cases in which accused are “unknown or untraceable”.

The then SSP Ijaz Ahmed, who had signed the investigation report, had advised the IO to insert the name of both the detained men in column-II of the investigation report in blue ink, meaning “so far there was no evidence available to charge-sheet them in the present case”.

The special public prosecutor in his scrutiny note of the investigating report, agreed with the IO’s recommendation for disposal of the case in ‘A’ class.

Therefore, agreeing with the opinion of the prosecutor, the judge had accepted the investigation report in ‘A’ class.

The judge had noted that the report of the joint investigation team (constituted to probe the murder case) was not “Black” and only one (member of the team) had declared the suspects as “Grey”.

The court had also seen the footage of the CCTV cameras installed at a bank near the place, where the victim was allegedly shot dead.

The judge had observed that: “These two accused persons do not have any previous criminal record”, adding that the empties (of the bullets) had also not matched with the pistol.

Subsequently, the court had acquitted both the held men.

However, the judge had directed the IO to make efforts to arrest the accused.

“So far the police (investigating officer) has not filed any intimation with the court regarding arrest of the suspects involved in this case,” a judicial source told Dawn, requesting anonymity.

“Once the IO intimates the court about the arrest of any suspect, the case will be reopened,” the source added.

No arrest in tanker mafia water theft case

A court expressed on Wednesday its extreme displeasure with the performance of police and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board officials over shortcoming in lodging of a case regarding theft of water by water tankers’ mafia in Karachi.

Police claimed to have arrested five drivers Safarullah, Azizullah, Gul Wali, Sera Jan and M. Hanif and booked them for allegedly stealing water through tankers in Mochko.

On Wednesday, an IO produced them before the judicial magistrate (West) on expiry of their physical remand and requested to remand them in judicial custody.

The IO informed that the complainant Mr Wakeel, who is posted as anti-theft officer in the KWSB, lodged a complaint that during patrol he spotted five water tankers allegedly being filled illegally with water from a water hydrant in Kato Goth on Northern Bypass on Aug 29.

Tankers’ drivers failed to produce official receipts.

“The suspects, who are drivers of the water tankers, disclosed that they had stolen the water from a canal,” the IO quoted the KWSB official as saying without mentioning the name of the canal.

The IO said the detained men had confessed to the offence and requested to remand them in judicial custody till Sept 13.

However, the judge pointed out that the exact place from where the suspects were stealing the water was not mentioned.

The judge granted post-arrest bail to them and the IO was told to submit a charge-sheet.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2021