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| India-Pakistan |
| Lahori, aide indicted in another killing case |
| 2010-02-21 |
| [Dawn] An anti-terrorism court indicted on Saturday Akram Lahori, said to be the chief of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, and an aide of his in a 2002 sectarian killing case. Mohammad Ajmal, better known as Akram Lahori, and his aide Attaullah have been booked in a 2002 murder case of a property dealer within the remit of the North Nazimabad police station. Judge Anand Ram Hotwani of the ATC-III read out charges against the suspects who pleaded not guilty and opted to contest the case. The judge summoned all prosecution witnesses to appear in court and record their statements on the next date. The hearing was adjourned till March 4. The trial is being conducted inside the Karachi Central Prison due to security considerations. According to the prosecution, Irfan Haider was sitting along with a friend outside the Zohra estate agency in North Nazimabad in February 2002 when two assailants riding a motorbike targeted him and escaped. The police arrested the suspects on June 29, 2002 within the remit of the Defence police station in three cases (FIRs 173/02, 175/02 and 176/02) registered against them under Section 13-D of the Pakistan Arms Ordinance, 1965. During initial interrogations, the suspects disclosed that they were also involved in the killing of the property dealer, it added. A case (FIR 180/2002) was registered against the suspects under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 7(e) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 at the North Nazimabad police station. The suspects were indicted after seven years of their arrest. Special Public Prosecutor Mubashir Mirza, who is pleading the case on behalf of the state, told Dawn that the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts in Karachi had directed the trial court to dispose of all pending cases against them within six months. Two PWs testify in sectarian killing case The same court recorded the statements of two prosecution witnesses in another sectarian killing case against Mohammad Ajmal alias Akram Lahori, Mohammad Azam alias Sharif and Attaullah alias Qasim. They have been charged with killing the principal of the Jamia Millia Polytechnic Institute, Malir, Zafar Mehdi Zaidi, his driver and peon in 2002 within the remit of the Al-Falah police station. The two witnesses, Medico-Legal Officer Nadim Noor and Assistant Sub-Inspector Wahid Bux, appeared in court and recorded their statements. SPP Mirza conducted the examination-in-chief of the witnesses. The MLO deposed that he had conducted the post-mortem on the three bodies while the ASI deposed that on his request the doctor completed the procedure as required under Section 174 of the criminal procedure code. The defence counsel also cross-examined the witnesses. The court adjourned the hearing till March 4. A case (FIR 78/2002) was registered under Sections 302 and 34 of the PPC read with Section 7 (e) of the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997 on the complaint of Syed Hasan Zaidi, a relative of the deceased, at the Al-Falah police station. |
| Posted by:Fred |