The suspect remanded into police custody after arguments of police and lawyers were heard by a local magistrate. PHOTO: EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI: Morgah police on Sunday have obtained three-day physical remand of 19-year-old Muhammad Ali who was arrested in connection with carrying out knife attacks on women as well as killing a nurse in the process.
The police had requested the court for an eight-day remand of the suspect, however, the court only allowed a three-day remand.
Ali was remanded into police custody after the arguments of police and lawyers were heard by Magistrate Imran Amir.
Moreover, Ali was sent on judicial remand in three cases of carrying out knife attacks on women in the areas of Morgah and Kotha Kallan.
Additionally, the court incarcerated the suspect in connection with the murder of 26-year-old Anam Naz, a nurse at Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH).
Sub-Inspector Kausar Malik, SHO of Morgah Police, produced Ali in the court and sought eight days supplementary physical custody.
It is pertinent to mention that the police inspector informed the court that the investigators had recovered an important piece of evidence, the knife that Ali allegedly used in the attacks.
The police officer said that Ali had been booked in three cases of attempted murder and one case of murder. He prayed before the court that the investigators needed more time to interrogate the accused.
Opposing the police’s request for more physical remand, Advocate Khalid Zaheer Raja, representing Ali, said that law enforcers had implicated his client in the cases incorrectly.
In his arguments, the lawyer said that Ali had to undergo surgery for the removal of his gall bladder a few days before Naz was killed.
He noted that Ali could not murder the nurse with the weapon and flee the scene of the crime, as he was not physically able.
Advocate Raja further argued that the police arrested Ali on August 9 and issued his image for public information on August 10.
Furthermore, he said the media reported about Ali’s arrest on August 11 and the police produced him in a court of law on August 17.
His advocate said that the police kept Ali in illegal custody for seven days, and as a result, had manufactured the confession statement of his client.
Quoting several media reports, the lawyer said that the police earlier had declared Ali to be mentally ill.
In another statement, the police claimed Ali became a misogynist after a girl betrayed him in a love affair.
The lawyer argued the changing stances of investigators were an indication that the police did not have solid evidence against Ali.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2016.
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