Bail application of cop accused of murder dismissed

The SP is accused of killing his wife at their home on July 17 last year.

KARACHI: A district and sessions court dismissed on Tuesday the bail application of a senior police officer accused of murdering his wife last year.

SP Mian Jamshed Inamullah, who is an officer of the Police Services of Pakistan (PSP), was arrested recently, after repeated warrants were issued against him. He is accused of killing his wife, Hina, at their residence in Defence Housing Authority on July 17, 2015. The woman was shot in the head and was rushed to the Aga Khan Hospital. She remained under treatment for five days and then succumbed to her injuries.

According to the police, the statement of the victim could not be recorded due to her critical condition. They added that her family did not approach the police to register a case. However, during the investigations, suspicion arose that the incident was premeditated and a case was registered on behalf of the state.

The SP, on the other hand, claimed innocence and contended that he was cleaning his pistol when it accidentally went off and the bullet hit his wife’s head, who was standing at a distance of 200 metres. After the incident, he was then posted to Quetta, Balochistan, and the case kept lingering. The court issued summons for him several times, to which he failed to comply. Eventually, the court issued non-bailable warrants for him and directed his seniors to produce him before the court.

The suspect, who is now in Central Jail on judicial remand, moved a bail application though his counsel before South district and sessions judge Suhail Laghari. The SP’s attorney submitted that his client was innocent and the incident was just an accident. The accused and his wife were happily married and had children, the lawyer argued, adding that on no ground his client could commit the offence and the charges against him were false.

The public prosecutor tasked with the case, Shakil Abbasi, opposed the bail application, contending that the accused is a senior police officer. He questioned how the officer could be so careless while cleaning his weapon, adding that the investigators have enough evidence which suggests the crime was an intentional act.  The judge, after listening to the arguments from both sides, rejected the bail application of the accused and fixed the next date for supply of copies in the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd,  2016.