More than just a number: Shahrukh Jatoi’s ossification test rejected
Show cause notice issued to police surgeon, medical superintendent.
Show cause notice issued to police surgeon, medical superintendent. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/ THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE
KARACHI:
Shahzeb Khan’s murder case took a new turn on Wednesday as an anti-terrorism court (ATC) rejected prime suspect Shahrukh Jatoi’s ossification test report that determined his age to be between17 to 18 years.
Ghulam Mustafa Memon, the judge of the ATC-III, ordered a fresh test to be conducted by a medical board and also issued show cause notices to the police surgeon, Dr Jalil Qadir, and the medical superintendent of Civil Hospital Karachi to explain as to why the court’s directives for the ossification test were not complied with in the first place.
The judge also ordered the medical superintendent to constitute a medical board for the ossification test and submit the report in court by February 11.
Incidentally, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had also expressed concerns during the suo motu proceedings on Tuesday about how the case was being investigated.
The police accused Shahrukh and Siraj Talpur of murdering 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan, son of a deputy police superintendent, on December 25, 2012, over a dispute in the affluent Defence locality of Karachi.
The Darakhshan police arrested them under murder, abatement and common intention charges after lodging an FIR under sections 302, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Later, section 354 of PPC and section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 were incorporated in the FIR on statements of the complainant, his relatives and eyewitnesses.
Currently, Shahrukh, Siraj Talpur, 22, his younger brother Nawab Sajjad Talpur, 21 and their 23-year-old servant Ghulam Murtaza Lashari are facing murder and terrorism charges.
On January 17, the investigators finally arrested Shahrukh, 23 days after he allegedly committed the crime and escaped to the UAE.
As the defense lawyer sought legal concessions for the suspect due to his minor status, the court had ordered an ossification test to determine his age.
On January 26, the judge in charge of ATC-III Bashir Ahmed Khoso sent Shahrukh to juvenile prison after an investigation officer produced the ossification test report that suggested Shahrukh was a minor.
“Per the ossification of his bones, Shahrukh Jatoi is 17-18 years old, closer to 18, as reported by the professor of radiology at the Civil Hospital Karachi,” stated the report, signed by Dr Qadir.
In view of the report, the defense lawyer pleaded that his client be kept in a juvenile jail and the trial be held separately from the co-accused adults.
On Wednesday, Memon rejected this ossification test certificate, observing that the hospital’s medical superintendent was ordered to conduct the test, but the police surgeon had issued this document by exceeding his powers.
Meanwhile, the suspects were remanded to judicial custody and the investigation officer was directed to submit a final charge-sheet by the next date of hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2013.
Shahzeb Khan’s murder case took a new turn on Wednesday as an anti-terrorism court (ATC) rejected prime suspect Shahrukh Jatoi’s ossification test report that determined his age to be between17 to 18 years.
Ghulam Mustafa Memon, the judge of the ATC-III, ordered a fresh test to be conducted by a medical board and also issued show cause notices to the police surgeon, Dr Jalil Qadir, and the medical superintendent of Civil Hospital Karachi to explain as to why the court’s directives for the ossification test were not complied with in the first place.
The judge also ordered the medical superintendent to constitute a medical board for the ossification test and submit the report in court by February 11.
Incidentally, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had also expressed concerns during the suo motu proceedings on Tuesday about how the case was being investigated.
The police accused Shahrukh and Siraj Talpur of murdering 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan, son of a deputy police superintendent, on December 25, 2012, over a dispute in the affluent Defence locality of Karachi.
The Darakhshan police arrested them under murder, abatement and common intention charges after lodging an FIR under sections 302, 109 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Later, section 354 of PPC and section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 were incorporated in the FIR on statements of the complainant, his relatives and eyewitnesses.
Currently, Shahrukh, Siraj Talpur, 22, his younger brother Nawab Sajjad Talpur, 21 and their 23-year-old servant Ghulam Murtaza Lashari are facing murder and terrorism charges.
On January 17, the investigators finally arrested Shahrukh, 23 days after he allegedly committed the crime and escaped to the UAE.
As the defense lawyer sought legal concessions for the suspect due to his minor status, the court had ordered an ossification test to determine his age.
On January 26, the judge in charge of ATC-III Bashir Ahmed Khoso sent Shahrukh to juvenile prison after an investigation officer produced the ossification test report that suggested Shahrukh was a minor.
“Per the ossification of his bones, Shahrukh Jatoi is 17-18 years old, closer to 18, as reported by the professor of radiology at the Civil Hospital Karachi,” stated the report, signed by Dr Qadir.
In view of the report, the defense lawyer pleaded that his client be kept in a juvenile jail and the trial be held separately from the co-accused adults.
On Wednesday, Memon rejected this ossification test certificate, observing that the hospital’s medical superintendent was ordered to conduct the test, but the police surgeon had issued this document by exceeding his powers.
Meanwhile, the suspects were remanded to judicial custody and the investigation officer was directed to submit a final charge-sheet by the next date of hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2013.