KARACHI, April 20: An anti-terrorism court on Saturday remanded 21 suspects in police custody in a rioting case for one week.

The police had arrested them on Friday for allegedly staging a violent protest near Tariq Road against the arrest of retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Suspects Syed Wasiuddin, Ahsan Memon, Mohammad Shahid, Mohammad Iqbal, Bilal, Khurram, Moshin and others were brought to the anti-terrorism court on Saturday for remand.

However, after going through the documents, special public prosecutor Abdul Maroof directed the investigating officer to produce them before the court of the judicial magistrate concerned since the offences did not fall under relevant section of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

But a prosecutor at the magistrate’s court also refused to produce the suspects before the court for remand and passed on the matter to his superiors.

Eventually, the suspects were produced before Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon of the ATC-III for remand and he handed them over to the police on seven-day physical remand.

The suspects were booked under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the ATA at the Ferozabad police station.

Policeman’s remand extended

The same court extended on Saturday the physical remand of a policeman in the murder case of the SHO of the Preedy police station till April 27.

The police reproduced constable Nazakat Ali before the court and sought extension in his remand.

According to the prosecution, SHO Inspector Agha Asadullah was travelling in his private car near Saddar on April 9, when his guard, who was sitting on back seat, allegedly shot him dead.

A case was registered under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the PPC read with Section 7 of the ATA on the complaint of a deceased’s brother.