Court remands KDA official in Civic Centre shooting case

Grants five-day extension to IO for submitting challan in doctor's suicide case

A local court handed over on Tuesday a Karachi Development Authority (KDA) official, accused of gunning down KDA's land department assistant director Wasim Usmani and additional director Wasim Raza in Civic Centre, to the police on a three-day physical remand.

Police produced the accused, Muhammad Hafiz, before East judicial magistrate during the hearing at Karachi City Court.

The government's lawyer, Arif Chhatari, informed the court that Hafiz, who was brought to the court in an ambulance from a hospital, was discharged from the healthcare facility that very day.

Hafiz had shot himself, too, right after opening fire on Usmani and Raza and was admitted to the hospital following the incident.

The government's lawyer told the court that no formal investigation had been launched yet to probe into the killings and moved it to grant a physical remand of the accused so that his statement could be recorded.

"He [Hafiz] is involved in a crime as serious as murder," he remarked, asserting his request for the accused to be remanded.

At this, the court handed over the accused to the police on a three-day physical remand. It also sought a progress report of the case at the next hearing.

After the hearing, law enforcers waited for around an hour for an ambulance to transport the accused, but when it didn't arrive, they took him away in a police mobile.

According to police, Hafiz opened fire on Raza and Usmani in Civic Centre on September 15 and a case, under sections of the Pakistan Penal Code pertaining to murder, attempted suicide and possession of illegal weapons, has been registered against him.

Extension granted

Separately, South judicial magistrate granted a five-day extension to the investigation officer of female doctor, M's* suicide case to submit the case challan.

At the hearing, the IO informed the court that relevant authorities had acquired the no-objection certificate (NOC) for exhuming the doctor's body, in addition to submitting an application for the same to Mirpurkhas sessions judge. He further told the court that a medical board had also been constituted for the purpose, however, adding that no date had been fixed yet for conducting the exhumation.

Besides, the IO said, the accused's mobile phones had been sent for forensic analysis, but the forensic report was yet to be released.

He moved the court to grant a 14-day extension for submitting the case challan.

The court, however, granted a five-day extension and adjourned the hearing.

M had shot herself in the head at her residence in Gizri on August 18. Her family called the Madadgar-15 police and she was rushed to the hospital in an injured condition, but later succumbed to her wounds.

*INITIAL USED TO PROTECT IDENTITY

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2020.