In court: SHC sets aside notice to re-investigate murder of Sulaiman Lashari

Sindh IG had issued a notification to reinvestigate the murder.

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday set aside the notification issued by the Sindh police chief regarding the formation of a committee to reinvestigate the murder of Sulaiman Lashari.

A division bench, headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazher, also ordered the IG to ensure that the case is tried in the anti-terrorism court (ATC) on the basis of the final charge-sheet that has already been submitted against the suspects.



The two judges passed these directives while hearing a petition by the victim's family against the fresh investigation into the murder.

Case history

Sulaiman was shot dead at his residence in Defence Housing Authority on May 8 this year. According to investigators, the main accused, Salman Abro, son of Sakrand Police Training Centre SSP Ghulam Sarwar Abro, went to Sulaiman's house with five police constables to settle an argument. They, however, opened fire, killing Sulaiman.

On Monday, the victim's brother, Zeeshan Lashari, went to court against the fresh probe into the incident. His lawyer, Faisal Siddiqui, said that provincial chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had on May 13 given orders to the Sindh IG to reinvestigate the killing. In compliance with this order, the police chief constituted a committee to hold fresh probe.

Siddiqui maintained that the trial was currently pending in the ATC, adding that at this stage, there was no need to reinvestigate the case. He said that the prime suspect was the son of a police officer, who was trying to save him.

"The final charge-sheet against the suspect has already been submitted to the trial court and therefore the trial should be conducted on its basis instead of reinvestigating and submitting a new charge-sheet," he stated. The court was therefore pleaded to set aside the IG's order of constituting an inquiry committee.

After hearing the arguments, the two judges set aside the IG's notification regarding the inquiry committee. While disposing of the petition, they ordered the IG to ensure that further trial is conducted on the basis of the final charge-sheet submitted to the relevant ATC.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2014.