Sum recovered from accused ‘mismatch’ with police memo
Police had to face blushing during the cross-examination of witnesses in a case related to the harassment of a boy and a girl in Sector E-11 in Islamabad.
During the cross-examination of witnesses in the case, Usman Mirza’s lawyer Javed Iqbal Venus and accused Umar Bilal Marwat’s lawyer Sher Afzal Marwat requested the court to present the recovered money.
On the court directives, the money was unsealed. The number of the alleged extortion money (notes) recovered from co-accused, Mohib and Umar Bilal Marwat, could not match with the police recovery memo.
When the recovery memo of Rs70,000 from accused Mohib and Rs100,000 from Umar Bilal Marwat was opened during the hearing, the counsel for both the accused started matching it with the police recovery memo.
Around 34 notes of Rs5000 recovered from the accused could not match with the police recovery memo, however, the total sum recovered from accused was intact.
When Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani conducted the proceedings, Farhan Shaheen’s lawyer Malik Ikhlaq Awan, plaintiff’s lawyer Hassan Javed Shorash and public prosecutor Hassan Abbas appeared before the court.
Five accused, including main accused Usman Mirza, could not be brought to court from Adiala jail due to the closure of roads. The court summoned the accused via Skype.
The accused Rehan and Umar Bilal Marwat, who were out on bail, appeared before the court on a court notice.
The co-accused in the case are Hafiz Ata-ur-Rehman, Idrees Qayyum Butt, Mohib Bangash and Farhan Shaheen.
Defendants’ lawyers completed cross-examination of the plaintiff and the then Golra Police Station House Officer Asim Ghaffar. Malik Javed Iqbal Venus, counsel for the main accused, Usman Mirza and Sher Afzal Marwat, counsel for the accused Umar Bilal Marwat, completed cross-examination of the plaintiff Asim Ghaffar.
The lawyers of the other accused adopted the same cross-examination of the plaintiff. Further hearing in the case was adjourned till November 4.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2021.