KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court in Karachi on Monday acquitted all the accused, including former Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar, in the murder case of Naqeebullah Mehsud, who shot dead the youth on the outskirts of the city. Five years after
The court said that the prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused.
Speaking to the media after the acquittal, Rao Anwar said that a false case was registered against him but thanks to Allah and the judge, this ‘false charge’ has been proved false.
A happy-looking Anwar said that he would give a detailed answer to the media later.
He claimed that 25 people were wrongly named in the murder case, adding that the person killed was a wanted terrorist named Naseemullah and not Naqeebullah.
“He was a wanted militant who was advertised in newspapers as well.”
When asked if he would like to rejoin the police department, the former policeman said he had a year of service left and would “like to serve Karachi”.
Anwar claimed that I liberated Karachi from many oppressors.
‘Travesty of justice’
After the announcement of the decision, activist and lawyer Gibran Nasir said that the legal heirs of the deceased will appeal against the decision in the High Court.
Rao Anwar and 17 other policemen were acquitted in the Naqeebullah Mehsud case. Plenty of justice but not surprising in a system where every institution is rotting like a dead body,” he wrote on Twitter.
On 13 January 2018, the model was killed in controversial circumstances, sparking condemnation on social media and nationwide protests by civil society against Rao Anwar and his team.
The judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court hearing the case at the Judicial Complex inside the Karachi Central Jail on January 14 reserved its verdict after recording the statements of the prosecution witnesses and the accused. and arguments by both the defense and the prosecution.
Rao and others, who were indicted in the case on March 25, 2019, denied the allegations.
During the lengthy trial, 60 witnesses, including five eyewitnesses Muhammad Qasim, Hazrat Ali, Sharoob Khan, Humayun and Afsar Khan, recorded their testimonies.
Concluding arguments
Advocate Salahuddin Panhour, the complainant’s counsel, in his closing arguments said that the case involved three episodes: Naqeeb’s abduction, his illegal detention and subsequent extrajudicial killing.
He said that Naqeeb and his friends Hazrat Ali and Qasim were abducted on January 3, 2018 from Gulshir Agha Hotel on Abul Hasan Isfahani Road.
He further said that Anwar and other accused demanded a ransom of Rs 10 lakh for their release. Ali and Qasim were released from illegal detention on January 6 while Naqeeb was handed over to Shah Latif Town Police. .
Panhour added that on January 13, Naqeeb and three others were shot dead in Usman Khaskheli Goth in an encounter by suspected police officers who called the victims terrorists.
“Geofencing, technical analysis of call data records and circumstantial evidence suggest Rao Anwar’s involvement in the extrajudicial killings,” he said.
“Anwar also admitted in his statement recorded under Section 342 of the Penal Code (CrPC) that he was aware of the matter and after contacting SHO Shah Latif Town,” the lawyer added. He also led a convoy to the spot,” the lawyer added.
They argued that the former SSP encouraged the kidnapping for ransom and killing of the victim and later tried to cover up the illegal activities by labeling the victims as militants. He requested the court to punish the accused policemen according to law.
On the other hand, lawyers Safai Abid Zaman and Amir Mansoor took the stand that there is a contradiction in the statements of the witnesses and requested the judge to acquit their clients.
According to the prosecution, the call data records showed the presence of Rao Anwar on January 4, 5, 8, 9 and 13 near the crime scene and New Sabzi Mandi on the Super Highway.
However, Rao Anwar in his statement denied the allegations of involvement in the extrajudicial killings and testified that he was not present at the place of occurrence at the time of the incident, nor had he ever visited the new vegetable market between January 4. What did and 6, 2018.
He claimed that he was implicated in the case based on “managed geofencing and call data records” at the behest of a senior police officer with whom he had professional enmity.
The former SSP surrendered before the Supreme Court after eluding law enforcement agencies for two months and was later taken into custody. Instead of being kept in the Central Jail, he was shifted from a house in the Malir Cantonment area to a sub-jail and finally released on bail in July 2018.
