Sri Lankan team attack: LHC tells police to re-arrest suspects given bail

Directs that the three accused men be produced before court on Feb 27.

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has directed city police to arrest the three accused who were earlier bailed out in the Sri Lankan cricket team attack case and produce them before the court by February 27.

The division bench, which resumed hearing in the case on Wednesday, once again issued non-bailable warrants for the three accused involved in the March 2009 attack. The bench had ordered the city police chief to arrest Muhammad Ashfaq, Imanullah and Obaidur Rehman and produce them in court but none of them appeared. Only three of the six accused, Mohsin Rashid, Javed Anwar and Abdullah, were presented.

The bench, comprising Justice Mazhar Iqbal Sidho and Justice Kazim Raza Shamsi, was hearing the Punjab government’s petition seeking cancellation of bail earlier granted to the six accused men by anti-terrorism courts.

At the hearing, Model Town SP (Investigation) Nasir Mukhtar Rajpoot appeared before the court and said that the accused had not been arrested so far. He told the court that the suspects’ families had relocated, making it difficult for police to make the arrests. He said that earlier the police raided their houses but could not get any clue about their whereabouts from family members.

Abdul Samad, additional prosecutor-general, said that the six accused were identified during an identification parade and had confessed to the crime during interrogation. A huge quantity of weapons and suicide jackets was also recovered from their possession, he said, adding that the accused did not appear before the trial court which had hampered that court’s proceedings.

Samad said that terrorists had damaged the country’s image by attacking a guest team. The government requested the court to cancel the bail, submitting that terrorists cannot be given the relief of bail under the law.

The petition stated that relief of bail given to the accused will send a wrong message to the cricket team that was attacked. The petition said that the accused were misusing the concession of bail and it should be taken back.