Court verdict: Extortionists to be charged under ATA
Police said suspects part of gangs which extort money from vendors.
Police said suspects part of gangs which extort money from vendors. DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD
ISLAMABAD:
A local judge ordered the police to book seven alleged extortionists on terrorism charges and produce them before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday.
Judicial magistrate Farrukh Raja said extortion falls under the category of terrorising people and the accused should be tried in an ATC. The Sabzi Mandi police had produced the seven alleged extortionists, including two Afghan nationals, before the court on Thursday to get a seven-day physical remand. The accused were arrested from the Sabzi Mandi area in a raid. The suspects were arrested by the police on Wednesday.
The police had registered a case against the seven suspects on extortion-related charges under sections 386 and 387 of the Pakistan Penal Code. A Sabzi Mandi police official said the charges under sections 6 and 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) have now been added to the case.
The police said the suspects were part of gangs which collected extortion from vendors at the vegetable market. According to the police, the gangs were collecting these sums as ‘security fees.’ The police said the extortionists were charging thousands of rupees from wholesalers.
Five of the seven suspects arrested, Habibullah, Umar Khan, Habibur Rehman, Hasil Khan and Nadir Khan, belong to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The remaining two, Hazrat Wali and Gul Wali, are from Afghanistan, according to the police. Twenty-eight unidentified people were named in the two FIRs registered by the Sabzi Mandi police.
“The suspects’ accomplices and their ringleaders have gone into hiding after we filed the FIRs,” said the official. “We are going to conduct more raids on Thursday night in an attempt to catch them.” The police also named Safdar Siddiq, Tariq Siddiq and Amjad Siddiq as leaders of one extortion gang in the cases that were registered. Amanullah alias Sheeno, Mir Vaiz, Daud Muslim and Abdul Wali were identified as leaders of the other gang.
The police had registered two FIRs against Sheeno, an Afghan refugee, one in July and one in September. He was released on bail and filed a petition with the IHC stating that a group of traders, backed by the police and politicians, extorted money from vendors. He alleged that he had been framed in the case. However, sources alleged that Sheeno and the people he was petitioning against were involved in extortion and that the business depended on power politics.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2013.
A local judge ordered the police to book seven alleged extortionists on terrorism charges and produce them before an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday.
Judicial magistrate Farrukh Raja said extortion falls under the category of terrorising people and the accused should be tried in an ATC. The Sabzi Mandi police had produced the seven alleged extortionists, including two Afghan nationals, before the court on Thursday to get a seven-day physical remand. The accused were arrested from the Sabzi Mandi area in a raid. The suspects were arrested by the police on Wednesday.
The police had registered a case against the seven suspects on extortion-related charges under sections 386 and 387 of the Pakistan Penal Code. A Sabzi Mandi police official said the charges under sections 6 and 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) have now been added to the case.
The police said the suspects were part of gangs which collected extortion from vendors at the vegetable market. According to the police, the gangs were collecting these sums as ‘security fees.’ The police said the extortionists were charging thousands of rupees from wholesalers.
Five of the seven suspects arrested, Habibullah, Umar Khan, Habibur Rehman, Hasil Khan and Nadir Khan, belong to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The remaining two, Hazrat Wali and Gul Wali, are from Afghanistan, according to the police. Twenty-eight unidentified people were named in the two FIRs registered by the Sabzi Mandi police.
“The suspects’ accomplices and their ringleaders have gone into hiding after we filed the FIRs,” said the official. “We are going to conduct more raids on Thursday night in an attempt to catch them.” The police also named Safdar Siddiq, Tariq Siddiq and Amjad Siddiq as leaders of one extortion gang in the cases that were registered. Amanullah alias Sheeno, Mir Vaiz, Daud Muslim and Abdul Wali were identified as leaders of the other gang.
The police had registered two FIRs against Sheeno, an Afghan refugee, one in July and one in September. He was released on bail and filed a petition with the IHC stating that a group of traders, backed by the police and politicians, extorted money from vendors. He alleged that he had been framed in the case. However, sources alleged that Sheeno and the people he was petitioning against were involved in extortion and that the business depended on power politics.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2013.