Rao Anwar denies all charges in Naqeebullah case

Claims he was implicated due to departmental rivalry

KARACHI:

The former SSP of Malir district Rao Anwar, who is accused of killing a young man Naqeebullah Mehsud, has denied all accusations in a Special Anti-Terrorism Court, which is currently hearing the case.

While recording his statement before the ATC, Anwar alleged that he has been implicated in the case due to departmental rivalry of a senior officer.

Anwar said his enemies tampered call data recording (CDR) and geo-fencing despite the fact there was contradiction in geo-fencing and CDR records.

He claimed that he was not present at the crime scene at the time of incident, while the prosecution could not produce any evidence indicating his presence at the scene.

The ex-cop known as encounter specialist said, “Malir SHO Aman Ullah, who has been declared fugitive in the case, had said that I was present at the encounter site.”

Anwar and others appeared before ATC No 16, which took up the Naqeebullah murder case at the Anti-Terrorism Complex in Karachi Central Jail. Anwar recorded his statement before the court.

The judge told Anwar that he was accused of kidnapping the victims and keeping them in different places along with his other colleagues and demanded a ransom of Rs1 million. Anwar denied the accusation, saying that no evidence had been presented in the court about the ransom demand.

The court inquired that on January 6, hostages Hazrat Ali and Muhammad Qasim were released while Naqeebullah was kept in illegal detention. Anwar also denied the accusation. “On January 13, four people, including Naqibullah, were killed in a staged police encounter at Shedi Goth on your order” the judge asked. Anwar claimed that when he arrived, the encounter had already taken place. “It is a lie that the encounter took place on my orders,” he claimed. The court told Anwar: “It is also alleged that you, along with other accomplices, destroyed the evidence to make the encounter appear real?” Anwar denied the accusation.

In his statement, Anwar said that on January 13, 2018, as SSP Malir, he had been informed about the presence of some terrorists in Shedi Goth within the limits of Shah Latif police station, but he was not fully aware of the matter. He further stated that the SHO requested him to send reinforcement. On this, he contacted the SHO and left his office at Old Toll Plaza, near Bakai Hospital, and then he and other police personnel stopped near Memon Goth police station where the same SHO sent two personnel on a motorcycle to pick them up. “By the time I got to the scene, the encounter was over. On inquiry, the SHO informed me about the incident through a text message which I forwarded to the higher authorities,” Anwar stated.

The former SSP said that Amanullah Marwat, the SHO of Shah Latif police station, who has been declared fugitive in the case, sent him a detailed message about the incident on WhatsApp at 3:39pm, which he had forwarded to IGP Sindh AD Khawaja and AIG Mushtaq Mehar at 3:41pm. “Ambulances and media persons had reached there before me. As SSP, I informed the media about the information provided by the SHO. I informed the media about the details which were telecasted. After which I performed my routine duty,” he added.

Also read: ‘Rao was not present at Naqeebullah encounter scene’

Anwar stated that he was informed that cases related to charge No. 17 to 21 have been registered and the cases have been sent to the concerned Investigation Unit for investigation. “On January 18, 2018, I received a notice directing me to appear before the inquiry committee constituted by the IG Sindh on  January 19, 2018 at 11am I appeared before the committee and recorded my statement,” he said. He further stated that after preliminary inquiry he was acquitted, while six policemen were held responsible.

During the inquiry, he submitted a copy of the identity card of Naseemullah, son of Muhammad Khan, a case charge No. 2014/92 registered in Gadap City police station and case charge No. 2014/281 registered in Sachal police station and the documents declaring accused Naqeebullah wanted to the committee.

Anwar said that Naseemullah had a fake name Naqeebullah and he used to commit crimes under this name. His family also received the body in the name of Naseemullah. “On January 20, 2018, I was transferred to the police headquarters, after which a case on charge No. 40/2018 was registered on January 23, 2018 on the basis of an enquiry, although the findings was signed and concluded on January 25, 2018,” Anwar stated.

The former SSP stated that in March 2018, he came to know through electronic media that the case related to the above incident is pending in the Supreme Court and he has been summoned in personal capacity. “On March 21, 2018, I appeared in the Supreme Court along with my lawyer, where the matter was disposed of by directing me to join the investigation. Then on the same day, I was detained by the investigating officer, SSP Abid Qaimkhani,” he added. Anwar further stated that he was not present at the time of the incident while visiting New Sabzi Mandi between 4th, 6th and 7th January 2018. He was involved by top officers through systematic call data records and geo fencing due to departmental rivalry, while CDR and geo fencing also have contradictions. The post in-charge is hierarchically supervised by the SHO, DSP and SP, while he has nothing to do with the outpost in-charge.

The former SSP said that CDR of none of the alleged kidnappers was submitted while Naseemullah (Naqeebullah) CDR was not submitted. The CDRs of the mobiles of Hazrat Ali and Mohammad Qasim, two important witnesses in the case, were not produced in the court to prove whether they were present at Sohrab Goth at that time or not. Due to departmental rivalry, he was named in this case without reason, while geo fencing of Abul Hasan Asfahani and Sabzi Mandi was not done, while there are many banks in both these places, not a single CCTV recording has been produced to prove that the accused were detained there. He further stated that at the time of the police encounter, if his digital location is checked, then he was four km away from the incident and traveling and if also see his CDR dated 4th and 6th January, he was 3.5 km away from the alleged place of detention. “The area of Sabzi Mandi is crowded where CCTV systems are installed but none of the CCTV footage shows my presence. I am innocent and plead for justice,” he pleaded before the court.