Uzair Baloch denies murders in court
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) declared on Monday several associates of Lyari kingpin Uzair Baloch as wanted suspects in the case pertaining to the murder of gangster Arshad Pappu. Meanwhile, Uzair maintained his innocence in the court, denying that he had recorded any confessional statement.
The ATC was hearing 16 cases, including the Pappu murder case, against Uzair at Karachi Central Jail, where the notorious gangster was presented in court under strict security by the Rangers.
The Rangers prosecutor requested the court to include Uzair's confessional statement in the case.
The request came after a joint investigation team (JIT) report, made public last week, revealed that Uzair, whose father was murdered by Pappu, had joined the Rehman Dakait gang to avenge his father's death. "In March 2013, Arshad Pappu was brutally killed by Uzair's gangsters, which made Uzair the undisputed criminal king of Lyari," the report added.
The report also stated that Uzair had confessed to direct or indirect involvement in 198 killings, motivated by ethnicity, politics or the Lyari gang war, as well as several other crimes.
The court asked Uzair if a copy of his statement could be made part of the case, upon which the accused responded that he had not recorded any confessional statement.
"You have been accused of murdering Arshad alias Pappu. Do you accept the allegation and should we indict you for the crime?" inquired the court.
"I say this in the presence of the Almighty, I have not committed any murder and I am innocent," maintained Uzair.
The court stated that he had recorded the confessional statement before a magistrate under Section 164, adding that the statement bore his signature too.
However, the accused insisted he had not recorded any statement under the said section, claiming that he was tricked and the magistrate had made a false statement.
"Tomorrow, you will deny the statements you gave in the ATC and the Sindh High Court. You will even say this trial never took place," remarked the judge.
The court declared Uzair's associate Habib Jan Baloch and others wanted in the Pappu murder case. The wanted men included known members of the Lyari gang war such as Zahid Ladla, Asif Mithal, Faisal Pathan, Ustad Taju, Shiraz Comrade and others who had been named in the JIT report as having killed Pappu and two others before burning their bodies and disposing of them in the gutter.
The police told the court that Habib, who recently made claims about Uzair's connections with Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had evaded arrest by going overseas.
The court also asked the police to submit a report about the death of Baba Ladla, another gang leader who was killed in a police encounter, by July 25. It announced that it would issue an amended indictment for Uzair at the next hearing.
Dua Mangi kidnapping
Meanwhile, an ATC expressed annoyance and issued a show-cause notice to the investigation officer (IO) for his absence at a hearing of the Dua Mangi kidnapping case.
Due to the IO's absence, copies of the case could not be provided to the accused.
According to the police, Mangi had been kidnapped from Defence Housing Authority on November 30, 2019 and the kidnappers had used an Italian-registered number to demand ransom from her family.
They stated that Mangi's father had paid Rs2.5 million for her release, adding that the kidnappers had kept her chained up in an apartment in Rufi Beach Paradise.
Five accused, including Muzaffar alias Mozi, Zohaib Qureshi and Muhammad Tariq alias Shakeel, have been arrested in the case. They were allegedly also involved in kidnapping another girl, Bisma Saleem, in a high-profile incident last year.