Rawal Lake poisoning case adjourned

ISLAMABAD:

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Wednesday adjourned until August 11 further hearings in a case against three suspects for allegedly mixing poison in the Rawal Lake for catching fishes. The accused, Jahangir Abbasi and two others had been acquitted in two cases of a similar nature by the ATC previously. During Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecution told the court that the witnesses summoned for the day were unable to attend court proceedings due to certain reasons. They pleaded with the court to adjourn the hearing. The court accepted the request and adjourned the hearing until August 11 and summoned witnesses for the day. The Secretariat police had registered three FIRs against the accused for their alleged involvement in catching fish after mixing poison in the waters of the Rawal Lake. One FIR was registered on behalf of the fishing contractor for Rawal Lake in which the accused were acquitted by the court. Another case was being tried based on two FIRs registered on behalf of the fisheries department under terrorism clauses. The accused had also been acquitted by the court in one of these two FIRs.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2020.