PIA joint action committee head records statement with police. PHOTO: ONLINE
KARACHI: A district and sessions court expressed on Thursday its displeasure at the police for not registering an FIR over the recent killing of Pakistan International Airlines' (PIA) protesting employees and washing the crime scene without collecting evidence.
Two PIA officials, communication manager Inayat Raza and aircraft engineer Saleem Akbar, were shot dead and another, Zubair, was critically wounded after an unexplained shooting incident during a protest against privatisation of the national air carrier on February 2.
"It is a very sorry state of affairs that since two days, [the] case is not registered on one hand and on the other, according to the learned counsel for the applicant [Captain Suhail Baloch, PIA workers' joint action committee chairperson], the venue of occurrence has been washed with the intention to destroy forensic evidence," observed Malir district and sessions judge Khalid Hussain Shahani.
The judge ordered the Airport police SHO to record Baloch's statement and register the FIR if a cognisable offence is established, in accordance with the law. Baloch recorded his statement with the police later in the evening.
The PIA workers' leader had moved court on Wednesday when, according to him, the SHO refused to register a case against the proposed suspects, including a senator, federal ministers, and other government officials including law enforcers.
Baloch named federal information minister Pervaiz Rashid, privatisation commission head Muhammad Zubair, Senator Mushahidullah Khan, the premier's special assistant on aviation Shujaat Azeem, secretary aviation Ifran Elahi, PIA general manager for administration Brig (retd) Asif and another official of the national carrier, Mama Maqsood, as suspects behind the conspiracy which led to the killing. He also sought implication of the law enforcers who opened fire at the protesters and maintained that they 'can be identified on seeing'.
In his statement submitted before the judge, Baloch stated that there were several masked law enforcers at the protest and they shot with a water cannon and tear gas, and baton-charged the workers. "All of a sudden, a bearded man asked the law enforcement officials to open fire and I heard a burst of gunfire and single shots," Baloch deposed, saying the officials were firing straight which resulted in the casualties. He insisted that these were premeditated murders and outcomes of a conspiracy hatched by the respondents.
At the outset of Thursday's hearing, the SHO told the judge that he did not refuse to record the complainant's statement, though he admitted that he had received the application through a courier. The officer added that he tried to contact the applicant, but in vain.
Meanwhile, Habib Ahmed, counsel for Brig (retd) Asif, objected to registering of the case contending that some important political figures are being involved, and pleaded for the application's dismissal.
The judge was not convinced by the defence counsel's arguments. It is an admitted fact that despite having knowledge, the SHO has failed to register the case, something he was legally bound to do on behalf of the state, the judge remarked. "Under the criminal justice system, the law comes into motion after registration of FIR and every investigation conducted before this is not appreciated by the courts," he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2016.
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