Mansoor’s ordeal: Remand extended for suspects

KARACHI:

A district and sessions court on Monday extended the physical remand for a day of Mansoor Mujahid, an award-winning filmmaker of Seedlings [Lamha] fame, his female friend, A*, and a woman, M*, who had complained about the murder of a banker in Clifton.

The victim, Faisal Nabi, had gone to Mujahid’s apartment along with his friend, M*, who had later contacted the Clifton police about the incident, which led to the arrests of Mujahid and his female friend, A*. On Sunday, the police also arrested M* and put her on trial on charges of repeatedly changing her statement before the police. She was on the witness list earlier. After inserting sections of the anti-terror law in the case, the police investigators looking into the murder of the 33-year-old victim had gone to an anti-terrorism court (ATC) seeking remand of the suspects.

The deputy district public prosecutor (DDPP) for the state, Abdul Maroof, however, sent back an officer, Irshan Karim, to the sessions court, saying that the alleged offence didn’t attract the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997.

In his note, Maroof stated that he had gone through the FIR and police papers and was of the opinion that Sections 6 and 7 of the ATA were not applicable to the case since the element of terrorism was missing.

Following the investigating officer’s request to the prosecutor for seeking remand from ATC-III, Maroof issued instructions to seek remand under section 167 of the Criminal Procedure Code from the concerned judicial magistrate.  Subsequently, the investigating officer presented the suspects before a judicial magistrate in district South, Waqar Ahmed Soomro. The judge, who was hearing the case as a link judge, remanded the suspects in police custody for one day.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2013.