Murder charges: Rizwan Qureshi declared proclaimed offender

A report quoting his statement about involvement of some former MQM leaders in the factory fire was published

KARACHI: A district and sessions court declared on Saturday a suspected hitman, Rizwan Qureshi, proclaimed offender in two murder cases after the police submitted that his whereabouts could not be located.

Qureshi ‘s statement during the investigation of Baldia factory fire changed the entire trajectory of the case and revealed it to be an arson attack.

The Rangers had submitted a report quoting his statement about involvement of some former Muttahida Qaumi Movement leaders in the factory fire in the Sindh High Court in February, 2015.

The suspect was charged with seven cases of murder and six of other nature. He was on bail and was regularly appearing in courts at Judicial Complex inside the Central Jail until the surfacing of the report.

The police submitted a report in court in compliance with the sections 87 and 88 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the suspect. The investigation officer said that the raids were made at all the possible places where he could be found but in vain.

The judge declared the suspect proclaimed offender and ordered seizure of moveable and immoveable property registered in his name. This particular hearing was fixed for hearing of two murder cases against him.

Meanwhile, non-bailable warrants for arrest were issued for him in rest of the cases.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2017.