Negligence: 48 suspects may be set free due to lack of evidence

Court issues show-cause notices as officers fail to bring seized weapons.

KARACHI: As long as six months after the arrests of suspects for possessing illegal arms, their cases are still pending as law enforcement officers fail to produce the seized weapons and provide evidence.

Due to this, an assistant sessions judge has issued show cause notices to 47 investigation officers for failing to produce the case properties and the forensic science lab's (FSL) reports in the pending cases.

The cases were registered against 48 suspects arrested during the targeted operation in district West, under section 23 1(a) of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013. However, only one investigation officer has so far successfully submitted the case property and the FSL report.

The issue surfaced when district West assistant public prosecutor Syed Shamim Ahmed submitted the details of the cases before the assistant sessions judge. The list revealed that the cases were pending because of the negligence of the officials of the Crime Investigation Department, the Special Investigation Unit, the Crime Investigation Agency and the Anti-Violence Crime Cell.

"Dates were fixed to produce evidence and hear bail applications but the investigation officers failed to produce the case property and the FSL reports and the matter keeps getting adjourned," said the prosecutor.

Ahmed said that the court has given a 'last chance' to the officers. In the report, Ahmed has stated that if the officers fail to produce the required evidence then the cases will be dismissed. Following the report, prosecution and investigation authorities have been ordered to produce case properties and the FSL reports.

Turned tables

The Sindh Arms Act, 2013, allows courts to award 'punishment for vexatious recovery and arrest’. "Any police officer declared responsible for a fake vexatious recovery, seizure or arrest under this Act by the court or a competent authority after a detailed enquiry, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine," states section 26 of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013.

This means that if the investigation officers fail to produce the recovered weapons, then they may be held responsible for registering 'fake' cases against the arrested suspects.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 19^th, 2014.