Arshad Pappu murder case: Witnesses claim they were forced to give testimony

Police constables tell judge they were detained, tortured, compelled to sign documents

KARACHI: The perplexing murder case of notorious gangster Arshad Pappu and his aides took another turn as two prosecution witnesses deviated from their previous statements before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday.

Two police constables were key witnesses for the prosecution in the triple murder case. However, as the case reached the evidence stage, they deposed that they were forced to be witnesses. The two men told ATC-VIII judge Akhlaq Hussain Larik that they were detained, tortured and compelled to sign a document by their superiors, who have not been named.

The dramatic revelations came two years after their statements were recorded before District South judicial magistrate Nadeem Babar Qazi. In these statements, they had claimed that Pappu, his brother Yasir Arafat and his aide Jumma Shera were picked up from an apartment in DHA by police officers Javed Baloch, Chand Niazi and Yusuf Baloch in March 2013. They were allegedly driven to Lyari and handed over to rival gangsters in the presence of suspects Zakir Dada and Zubair Baloch, who were later arrested. Pappu, Arafat and Shera were then reportedly lynched and their bodies chopped into pieces before being burnt.

In the latest development, the witnesses claimed that their statement was pre-written as it was recorded before the civil judge. They added that they were not even present at the scene on the day of the murders.

Larik, after listening to their testimony, adjourned the hearing till May 5 for the recording of the remaining evidence.

The five accused — Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Shahjahan Baloch, Zakir, Zubair and police officers Javed and Yusuf — were present during the hearing. Another suspect, Abdur Rehman, who was recently granted bail, also appeared in court.

The absconders in the case include defunct Peoples Amn Committee chief Uzair Baloch, gangster Baba Ladla and policeman Niazi. The FIR was registered on behalf of Pappu’s widow on the directions of the Supreme Court.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2015.