ATC indicts Uzair Baloch in murder, kidnapping case

Lyari gangster was charged with abducting and killing a trader

KARACHI:

A special anti-terrorism court (ATC) indicted on Tuesday Lyari gangwar leader Uzair Baloch in a case pertaining to the kidnapping and murder of a trader.

An ATC was hearing the case at Karachi Central Jail, where the accused was presented before the court. The judge read the indictment aloud, which stated that Baloch was accused of kidnapping and murdering a trader named Abdul Samad. The indictment read that Baloch kidnapped Samad and demanded Rs1 million in ransom, but killed him after taking Rs70,000 from his family.

The court asked Baloch if he had confessed to the crime, at which the accused shook his head. It then issued notices to the investigation officer and witnesses, directing that witnesses be presented before the court at the next hearing.

According to police, Baloch’s brother Zubair Baloch and others were also arrested in the case and had been indicted earlier.

Nine Zero raid case

A special anti-terrorism court (ATC) directed the counsels on Tuesday to continue the cross examination of the accused’s statement in the case pertaining to arrests of terrorists and discovery of weapons from Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) head office.

The counsels for the accused presented the CCTV footage of the arrests, which was played in the court room.

Defence lawyer Muhammad Jivani maintained that the CCTV footage proved that the claim of the accuseds being arrested from the MQM head office was false.

The prosecutor, however, insisted that the accused were arrested from Nine Zero.

At this, Jivani contested that the footage clearly showed that Rangers officials arrested one of the accused, Nadir Shah, from his house.

Another accused, Faisal alias Mota, also maintained before the court that he was arrested from his house.

The court directed the counsels to continue the cross-examination of the accused’s statement at the next hearing on July 14.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2020.