Ex-IO records statement in Shahzeb murder case

Karachi

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) turned down the defence counsel’s pea on Wednesday against allowing a police officer to record his statement in the high-profile Shahzeb Khan murder case.

Prime suspects Shahrukh Jatoi, Sirjaj Talpur, his brother Sajjad Talpur and their employee Ghulam Murtaza Lashari are facing charges of murdering 20-year-old Khan, son of DIG Aurangzeb Khan.

Sub-Inspector Nafees Ahmed, who had earlier acted as investigation officer (IO) in the case, informed ATC-III judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon about the details of the examination of the crime scene and the collection of case property. He said he had gathered five bullets fired from an MMV rifle.

Earlier, when the defence attorney requested the judge not to allow the police officer to record his statement and summon a ballistic expert who could throw light on technical issues revolving around the murder weapon, the judge rejected his plea and directed the witness to record his statement.

Upon the question of cross-examination of the witness, the ATC observed that he would be examined on Thursday (today).

A witness, Asghar Hussain, who was due to record his statement, backed out.

Advocate Abdul Maroof is pleading the case of the prosecution in the absence of the ailing prosecutor Muntazir Mehdi.

The ailing prosecutor had got five witnesses to pull out of the trial, and told the judge that their evidence was not important.

The new prosecutor, however was of the view that when the witness (Asghar Hussain) himself was not agreeing to repeat his statement in the trial court, it was of no use to press him for giving evidence. The witness had showed his inability to re-record his evidence in the case.

The prosecution claimed that the evidence recorded before a judicial magistrate concerned was part of the proof against the alleged murderers.

However, the attorneys for the accused rejected that stance on the grounds that the confessional statements made under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code were again made and repeated in the trial court.

The court had already allowed the withdrawal of five prosecution witnesses on the request of the prosecutor as they were “not directly involved and their evidence would waste the court’s time”.

Another aspect of the murder case is an application moved to the prosecutor general concerned on behalf of Shahrukh Jatoi that the case should be transferred to a sessions court as the nature of the case being heard against him was not of “terrorism” in the eye of law.

Khan, a private university student, was gunned down after a brawl in the upscale neighbourhood of Defence on December 25 last year.