Caught at last: Three militants sent on remand

Court remanded suspects till February 28.

KARACHI: The Anti-Terrorism Court sent three members of a militant group on physical custody remand to the police on Friday on charges of carrying explosives, planning to hit government installations and high-profile personalities in Karachi.

The ATC-III remanded the suspects, Umer Farooq, Syed Ayub and Humayun, after they appeared before the court. The district public prosecutor, Abdul Maroof, requested the court to award remand of the suspects as one of the absconding suspect, Syed Alam, involved in case has to be arrested on their indication. According to the court officials, the suspects had planned to hit government installations, including PAF Base in Mauripur, and different high profile personalities in the city.

Earlier, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) had claimed to seize a van carrying 120 kilogrammes of explosive at Mauripur Road on late Thursday evening and arrested the suspects in an encounter.

According to CID's Crime Interrogation Unit in-charge Mazhar Mashwani, the explosives inside the van were ready for use and had been rigged for detonation through a remote control device.

Several cases under sections 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with section 4/5 of the Explosives Act and section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, was registered against them at the CID police station.

The court remanded the suspects till February 28.