Murder or accident: Shan Khusro receives pardon

Parents of the deceased tell the court they have no objection to his acquittal.

LAHORE:

An out of court compromise was claimed in the murder case against the son of a former Lahore division commissioner on Wednesday.

Shan Khusro was on trial for killing a classmate, Hamza Elahi, in July last year.

On Wednesday, however, Elahi’s parents, Fazal Elahi and Shabana Elahi, approached the court and said they had forgiven Khusro. They said they had no objection if he was acquitted. They said they had not received any diyat (blood money).

Their counsel Sohail Dar was not present. The judge fixed December 14 to record their statements.

At the previous proceeding, the judge had sought a list of the legal heirs of the deceased.

The proceeding of the case had been delayed several times as prosecution witnesses had not recorded their statements, mostly because counsel for defence was “busy” with other cases.



The trial had started on July 27, 2012.

Case copies were distributed on August 28, 2012, but Khusro’s counsel later claimed he had not received complete records.

He also submitted an application seeking acquittal of his client. At the time, Dar had objected to the request.

The charges were framed against the accused on January 19, 2013. The prosecution witnesses were summoned to record their statements by February 16, 2013.

As many as 10 witnesses appeared before the court but Khusro’s counsel did not turn up. On March 9 and 27, there was a lawyers’ strike.

After that six dates for hearing passed without the defence counsel appearing.

On July 20 there was another lawyers’ strike and the case was adjourned till August 17. Khusro’s counsel was absent from the proceedings once again.

The court then fixed September 5 to record the statements of prosecution witnesses.

The case

According to the FIR registered by Fazal Elahi at Burki police under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code against Khusro, his son had left home after speaking to Khusro on the phone on June 2, 2012.

He said later he received a call that his son had been gunned down in DHA’s phase five. Shan Khusro told the police that he had shot Hamza Elahi by accident.

He said they had gone to Defence to practice firing in the air.

He said he had purchased an unlicensed gun from a contact in Farooqabad.

He said he was trying to remove a bullet from the chamber of the gun when it went off and a bullet hit Hamza near his right ear.

Hamza Elahi had been driving the car and was also on a phone call at the time.

Khusro said he panicked, pushed Hamza out of the car and slid into the driving seat. Hamza’s body was found the next day.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2013.