KARACHI, Jan 23: An Anti-Terrorism Court recorded on Friday the statements of three prosecution witnesses in a kidnapping for ransom and murder case of a jeweller.

Two accused, Iftikhar and Nawaz, have been charged with the kidnapping of the jeweller, Shaikh Mohammad Aslam, on April 25, 2008 for ransom. The alleged kidnappers killed the victim and dumped his body in the underground water tank of a house in PECHS from where the body was recovered on May 30.

A witness, Majid Khan, testified in court that he saw the accused along with the deceased jeweller at a bungalow in PECHS.

Another prosecution witness, Mohammad Ishaq, testified that the accused, Iftikhar, was his friend and he had sold the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), which was used in the crime, to him before the incident.

The court also recorded the statement of a medico-legal officer, Dr Abdul Jabbar Memon, of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. He deposed that he conducted the post-mortem on the body, which had decomposed.

The judge, Abdul Ghafoor Memon of ATC-II, who is conducting the trial, adjourned the hearing till Jan 24.

According to the prosecution, on April 25 the accused kidnapped the jeweller in the limits of the Darakshan police station and demanded a ransom of Rs3 million from his family. They reduced the ransom amount to Rs600,000. However, the accused allegedly killed the jeweller.

The accused, Nawaz and Iftikhar, were arrested by the Anti-Violent Crime Cell and the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee on May 30 in Bhittai Colony, near Korangi Crossing. Their accomplice, Rasheed Khan, is still at large.

According to the charge-sheet, one of the accused persons was a relative of the deceased. The accused brought the jeweller to a vacant bungalow in PECHS, made him hostage and demanded that his family pay ransom for his release. However, the accused had killed him since the ransom amount could not be settled with the victim’s family. They dumped the body in the underground water tank, which was recovered by the police on a lead given by the arrested accused. Nawaz was the caretaker of the vacant bungalow.

A case (FIR 223/08) was registered under Section 365-A and 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Darakshan police station.

So far, nine prosecution witnesses have been examined in the case while the investigation officer will record his statement on Saturday.

Land scam case against DIG

Six prosecution witnesses testified before an accountability court on Friday in a land scam reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau against a senior police officer and others.

The NAB, Sindh, on Dec 4, 2007 arrested an official of the Sindh police, DIG Altaf Hussain Bhatti, on charges of misusing his authority while holding a public office by illegally acquiring over 500 acres of government land in Thatta district, causing heavy losses to the national exchequer.

When the hearing began on Friday, six officials of the Sindh revenue department appeared in court and informed the judge with regard to the allotment of the government land. The six prosecution witnesses were Ghulam Rasool, Sultan Ali Khawaja, Syed Irshad Ali Shah, Ghulam Mustafa, Abdul Ghaffar and Dino.

Judge Syed Aley Maqbool Rizvi adjourned the hearing till Jan 29 for further evidence.

The court had indicted DIG Altaf Bhatti, co-accused Ali Ahmed Bhatti, Usman Memon, Noor Ali, Mohammad Hussain, Usman G. Memon, Hanni Ram and Mr Thain and others on charges of corruption on Sept 10.

According to the reference, the DIG had illegally transferred small pieces of state land in fake names and had them allotted to himself, his family members and other relatives.

The accused were being tried under Sections 9 (4) of the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance 1999, read with Sections 468 and 471/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The DIG was remanded in judicial custody on Dec 5, 2007. However, a bench of Supreme Court had granted him bail. Other accused persons were also given bail.

Sacked nazims case

The Sindh High Court asked the provincial government on Friday to maintain the status quo in respect of the taluka councils of Larkana and Dadu and adjourned the hearing of the petitions of their sacked nazims to February 4.

Advocate Abdul Mujib Pirzada argued on behalf of Qurban Ali Abbasi and Nabban Khan Lund, nazims of Larkana and Dadu talukas, respectively, that they were suspended and ousted from their offices in violation of the law as part of the ruling party’s campaign to victimise its political opponents. There was no provision in the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 2001, for suspension and termination of the nazims by local government department officials.

Advocate-General Mohammad Yusuf Leghari contended that action against the petitioners had been taken strictly in accordance with the law after holding inquiries into charges against them. He said their deputies or naib nazims had already succeeded them and assumed charge of their offices.

Directing the parties to maintain the status quo, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Faisal Arab adjourned further hearing to February 4.

Suspension stayed

Another division bench consisting of Justices Khilji Arif Hussain and Arshad Noor Khan stayed the suspension notice served on a grade 19 official of the Port Qasim Authority. Petitioner Ali Khan submitted through Advocate Haroon Shah that the post of manager of the authority’s anti-encroachment cell was advertised on a contract basis by the ministry of ports and shipping in December 2008. He applied for the vacancy and was selected after tests. However, he had been served a notice of suspension because of discrepancy in his documents.

Issuing notices to the respondent PQA and the establishment division for Jan 28, the bench stayed the operation of the impugned notice till that date.