Sole arrested suspect remanded till Nov 26

According to remand papers, Lal Magsi was arrested from the Gulbahar area and his .222 rifle and ammo were seized.

KARACHI: Lal Muhammad Magsi, the only man who was arrested for the Shershah scrap market shoot-out, was remanded to the custody of Pak Colony police’s investigation wing till November 26 by Justice Maqbool Baqar of the Anti-Terrorism Court on Saturday.

Magsi was produced before the administrative judge of the Sindh High Court in the afternoon by the investigating officer. According to the remand papers, he was arrested from the Gulbahar area by the Gulbahar police and his .222 rifle and ammunition were seized. He was booked under Section 13D of the arms ordinance on the charge of possessing illegal arms.

When he was identified after the arrest, the police found out that he was wanted in the Shershah scrap market case and was then handed over to the Pak Colony police. The remand request said the physical custody of the accused is required for interrogation and the arrest of his accomplices.

During the hearing on Saturday, the administrative judge inquired from Magsi about any maltreatment by the police, to which he replied that there was none. The judge then granted the request by Special Public Prosecutor Arshad Iqbal Cheema for the suspect’s 10-day remand, up to November 26.

According to the remand papers, the absconding accused are Hameed alias Mulla Raju, Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla, Imdad Hussain, Shafi Muhammad Magsi, Jawwad, Nawaz, Iqbal, Ejaz, Akbar, Tehseen, Rashid, Abid, Pervez, Tufail, Rasheed and Asghar.

Twelve shopkeepers were killed on October 19 when more than a dozen gunmen — allegedly Lyari gangsters — attacked the market. Seven others were injured.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2010.