Set free: Court exonerates 12 men for attacking Imambargah

Verdict states lack of evidence to prove the heinous crime against suspects

RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday exonerated 12 men involved in an attack on an Imambargah three years ago. According to details, the suspects were accused of attacking  the Imambargah with weapons and sticks after a madrassah in Rawalpindi was torched following riots on Ashura in November 2013.

ATC special judge heard the petition and acquitted the suspects on grounds that police had failed to provide enough evidence to prove that the accused were involved in the attack on Colonel (retired) Maqbool Hussain Imambargah in Banni area of Rawalpindi city on November 15, 2013.

The court exonerated Usman Sarfaraz, Muhammad Attique, Imran Shamraiz, Kamran Khan, Mubashir Azhar, Noman Khan, Jahangir Khan, Muhammad Saeed Butt, Muhammad Ismail, Mohsin Khan, Arsalan Ejaz, and Shahrukh for lack of evidence against them.

The Imambargah had been attacked at around 9:00pm when mourners were gathering there. The attackers also roughed up police officials and private guards on duty. The following day police arrested 12 individuals for allegedly attacking the Imambargah.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Advocate Naseer Ahmed Tanoli, representing two of the accused, said that the prosecution could not provide enough evidence to satisfy the court over their involvement in the heinous crime. The court also granted bail to suspects in the case.

Criticising the investigation process, Advocate Tanoli said that an identification parade for the accused was not carried according to set rules. Moreover, the investigation officer did not prepare a report of the crime scene on the day of occurrence. He added that the police did not recover any weapons from the accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2016.