Sulaiman Lashari murder case: Medical board declares key accused, Salman Abro, a minor
The petitioner claimed that the father of the accused had influenced the medical board.
KARACHI:
The medical test conducted to determine the age of Salman Abro, the key accused in the Sulaiman Lashari murder case, has declared him a minor. Salman was subsequently sent to a juvenile prison by an anti-terrorism court on Monday.
The report, compiled by the medical superintendent of the Services Hospital, stated that the suspect was aged between 17 and 18 years. Accepting the report, the ATC-III sent Abro to the juvenile jail.
The complainant's counsel, Muhammad Khan Buriro, however, challenged the report, saying that it was biased, unfair and was prepared under pressure.
The counsel moved an application to constitute a super medical board to determine the age of the main accused as all the members of the present medical board were government employees, and had thus been under pressure.
Buriro said that the father of accused, who is a serving SSP of the Sakrand Training Centre and affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was influencing the case with the support of the ruling party. Subsequently, the court issued notices to defence and state counsel for the next hearing.
In the second application, Buriro told the court that the police have not provided security to the complainant party despite court directions. On May 16, Buriro had filed an application on behalf of the complainant, which stated that the complainant's family was being threatened.
The Inspector General of Police (IG) was ordered to provide security, who had in turn ordered the Operations AIG to comply. The order has not been complied with so far, he said, adding that the AIG had committed an offence under Section 37(a) of ATA 1997, as he was duty-bound to provide protection to the complainant. The court issued notice to the prosecutor and Operations AIG for July 17.
Meanwhile, the suspect's lawyer, Abdul Razzak, filed a plea under Section 23 of the ATA, challenging jurisdiction of the ATC and requesting the court to send the case to a sessions court. The counsel said that since the report declared the suspect underage, he couldn't be tried under ATA laws.
The court issued notice to the prosecutor and complainant lawyer to file their comments by July 17.
Case history
Lashari, a student of O' Levels, was shot dead while he was studying at his house in Defence Housing Authority on May 8. The police claimed that the main accused, Salman Abro, along with five police constables had come to the victim's house and opened fire on him and others.
The police said that one of the victim's guards, Ghulam Ali, had opened fire on the attackers leaving Salman and a police guard, Zaheer Ahmed, wounded. Ahmed later died while Abro was admitted to a private hospital. Ali was also hurt in the exchange of fire, the police added.
A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupee) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, on the complaint of a brother of the deceased at the Darakhshan police station.
In the charge sheet, the police inserted Section 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment) against the suspects after determining that the suspects had barged into the victim's house with intent to kill him.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2014.
The medical test conducted to determine the age of Salman Abro, the key accused in the Sulaiman Lashari murder case, has declared him a minor. Salman was subsequently sent to a juvenile prison by an anti-terrorism court on Monday.
The report, compiled by the medical superintendent of the Services Hospital, stated that the suspect was aged between 17 and 18 years. Accepting the report, the ATC-III sent Abro to the juvenile jail.
The complainant's counsel, Muhammad Khan Buriro, however, challenged the report, saying that it was biased, unfair and was prepared under pressure.
The counsel moved an application to constitute a super medical board to determine the age of the main accused as all the members of the present medical board were government employees, and had thus been under pressure.
Buriro said that the father of accused, who is a serving SSP of the Sakrand Training Centre and affiliated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was influencing the case with the support of the ruling party. Subsequently, the court issued notices to defence and state counsel for the next hearing.
In the second application, Buriro told the court that the police have not provided security to the complainant party despite court directions. On May 16, Buriro had filed an application on behalf of the complainant, which stated that the complainant's family was being threatened.
The Inspector General of Police (IG) was ordered to provide security, who had in turn ordered the Operations AIG to comply. The order has not been complied with so far, he said, adding that the AIG had committed an offence under Section 37(a) of ATA 1997, as he was duty-bound to provide protection to the complainant. The court issued notice to the prosecutor and Operations AIG for July 17.
Meanwhile, the suspect's lawyer, Abdul Razzak, filed a plea under Section 23 of the ATA, challenging jurisdiction of the ATC and requesting the court to send the case to a sessions court. The counsel said that since the report declared the suspect underage, he couldn't be tried under ATA laws.
The court issued notice to the prosecutor and complainant lawyer to file their comments by July 17.
Case history
Lashari, a student of O' Levels, was shot dead while he was studying at his house in Defence Housing Authority on May 8. The police claimed that the main accused, Salman Abro, along with five police constables had come to the victim's house and opened fire on him and others.
The police said that one of the victim's guards, Ghulam Ali, had opened fire on the attackers leaving Salman and a police guard, Zaheer Ahmed, wounded. Ahmed later died while Abro was admitted to a private hospital. Ali was also hurt in the exchange of fire, the police added.
A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 324 (attempted murder), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupee) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, on the complaint of a brother of the deceased at the Darakhshan police station.
In the charge sheet, the police inserted Section 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment) against the suspects after determining that the suspects had barged into the victim's house with intent to kill him.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2014.