An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi remanded on Wednesday Orangi Town Station House Officer (SHO) Azam Gopang in police custody till December 19 in an illegal weapons case, which has been registered in connection with the killing of a college student, Arsalan Mehsud, allegedly during a fake encounter earlier this month.

Mehsud,18, son of a local Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader, was shot dead in Orangi Town No 5 on December 6.

Subsequently, a first information report (FIR) was registered over murder charges against Gopang, police constable Tauheed and his friend Umair, and the constable and his friend were arrested.

On Tuesday, another FIR was registered against Gopang on charges of possessing an illegal weapon, which was allegedly used to kill Mehsud. Gopang was arrested the same day from outside the court after an ATC had dismissed his bail application in the initial case.

He was produced before an administrative judge of an ATC today by the investigation officer (IO), who sought his physical remand for further investigation and interrogation in the illegal weapons case.

The IO, Senior Superintendent of Police Abid Qaimkhani, told the court that Mehsud's father had named the SHO in the murder case and that the suspect needed to be interrogated regarding the possession of an illegal weapon, which was allegedly used to kill Mehsud.

He added that a report following the ballistic analysis of the weapon was still awaited and hence, the investigation remained incomplete.

The IO said the forensic analysis of the weapon was needed to ascertain whether it was used to kill Mehsud.

He then requested the court to hand over Gopang to police on a 14-day physical remand.

The prosecutor, on the other hand, argued that there was no connection between the two FIRs registered against Gopang.

But the court remanded Gopang in police custody till December 19, directing the IO to produce the suspect and submit an investigation report at the next hearing.

After the hearing, Gopang denied the allegations levelled against him while speaking to the media outside the court.

The murder FIR

The FIR for Mehsud's murder has been registered against three suspects — SHO Gopang, constable Tauheed and his friend Umair — under sections 34 (common intention), 109 (punishment of abetment), 302 (murder), 324 (attempted murder) and 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to the FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the complainant Badshah Khan said that he had been alerted by a relative on Monday at 9:15pm that his nephew, Arsalan Mehsud, and his friend, Yasir, were injured by gunfire and had been rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

"Upon being alerted, I immediately reached Abbasi Shaheed Hospital with my relatives and got to know that my nephew, Arsalan, had died," the FIR quoted him as saying. It said Arsalan was 16 years old and was a college student.

Khan said that he later learned that Arsalan had gone for tuition with his friend on a motorcycle as per usual. While returning at around 8:30pm, the FIR said the two were injured in gunfire within the limits of Orangi Town Police Station. The family had initially believed the incident was a mugging gone wrong.

Upon further inquiry, it emerged that a policeman, Tauheed, was on "intelligence duty" and had shot at Arsalan and Yasir, resulting in the former's death. Tauheed was accompanied by his friend when the incident occurred.

The incident had drawn widespread condemnation on social media and sparked a protest by relatives and community members, prompting higher authorities, including DIG West Nasir Aftab, to take notice.

The DIG had ordered Gopang's suspension and set up an investigation committee to probe the incident.