Justice delayed: Killer burger case lingers on as investigators fail to produce leads

Thirteen-year-old Kanza died in January after consuming chicken burgers at the eatery's North Nazimabad branch

KARACHI:

The 'murder' case of teenager Kanza Ahmed, the girl who allegedly died after consuming a poisonous burger at a popular eatery, Dilpasand Sweets, has become embroiled in controversy for its snail-paced trial as the investigators have changed their stance thrice in three months.

Thirteen-year-old Kanza, a student of grade eight, died in January and her mother and two younger siblings fell ill, the family claimed, after consuming chicken burgers at the eatery's North Nazimabad branch.

Due to the rare nature of the case, the FIR was not registered by the police until the deceased girl's father, Dr Ahmed Bari, approached the court.

Three months on, the case, after witnessing its fair share of delays, changed its trajectory yet again as the police implicated three Dilpasand employees - Saleem, Shahid and Nawazuddin. They were, however, shown as absconders.

The move came days after the eatery's owners, Amir Ahmed and Saqib Ahmed, were granted pre-arrest bail by a higher court.

The police was unable to trace the absconding suspects, read a report submitted to the court by the police. "Proclamation is hereby made that the said accused are required to be presented before the court on June 9 at 8pm."

On the other hand, the complainant's attorney, Ehtishamullah Khan, reposed his no-confidence in the police report, arguing that the investigators never made any attempt to arrest these persons. "It is a mala fide tactic to save the accused owners by diverting attention towards the workers."

Earlier, the case was being investigated by DSP Altaf Hussain, who had declared it A-class, meaning there was no sufficient evidence against the accused. A chemical examination report of the leftovers of what the girl had consumed before her death had confirmed that the burger was 'not fit for human consumption'.

The court had dismissed the DSP's report and accepted the complainant's report as challan of the case. However, the investigation was transferred last month to DIG Sultan Khawaja who had sought a medical report to investigate the circumstances of the girl's death once again. The report has, however, not been submitted to the court yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2015.