Court turns down bail for suspect as witnesses still have to be examined

Chief Justice says cases of vehicle snatching on the rise.

KARACHI: A man arrested on suspicion of killing a Balochistan minister, Sardar Rustam Khan Jamali, was refused bail by the Sindh High Court here on Tuesday.

The minister of excise and taxation was killed in a botched attempt to snatch his luxury jeep in 2009 in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

Abdul Hafeez was arrested in May 2011 in the case. On Tuesday, he requested bail through his lawyer, Amir Mansoob Qureshi advocate, on the grounds that he was not identified by any witness in this case and had no connection with the alleged murder.

But SHC Chief Justice Mushir Alam rejected his application.

According to the prosecution, Hafeez was a member of a gang which specialized in disabling the tracking systems fitted in vehicles. M. Ilyas Khan and Muhammad Farooq advocates appearing for complainant Naurooz Khan Jamali, submitted that so far, out of four witnesses, two have been examined by a trial court and the other two are have yet to be examined. They therefore argued that bail at this stage may harm the case.

They submitted that vehicle snatchings in Karachi were on the rise and many people have lost their lives in these incidents when they tried to resist. It is a heinous crime and if the accused is granted bail, car snatchings will never be controlled in this metropolis, submitted Muhammad Farooq advocate.

The bench agreed with the arguments and in its three-page order, held that vehicle snatching was on the rise and thus the man accused in this crime cannot be given any concession. The bench rejected the bail application said that Hafeez can ask for bail again after the remaining two witnesses are examined by the trial court.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2012.