Kidnapping case: Lakhvi’s acquittal plea rejected

ISLAMABAD:

A judicial magistrate on Friday rejected the plea of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of Mumbai attack case, to be acquitted in a six year-old kidnapping case.

In December, the Golra police registered a case against Lakhvi, for allegedly kidnapping Anwar Khan, a resident of the capital’s outskirts. The case was registered in response to a complaint filed by Muhammad Dawood, a relative of Khan.

Judicial magistrate Naveed Khan rejected the plea filed by Lakhvi’s counsel Rizwan Abbasi. On January 9, the court granted him bail against surety bonds of Rs200,000.

On February 10, the court had reserved its judgment after lawyers from both sides concluded their arguments. Abbasi had argued that the police had registered a fabricated case. He had maintained that the incident took place six years back and police registered the case in 2014, arguing that this suggested mala fide intentions and “Indian pressure”.

However, prosecutor Amir Tabish had opposed the acquittal plea and maintained that police have not completed the investigation. He said that prosecution will produce witnesses later. He also argued that Anwar Khan is still missing, and if “found dead, premeditated murder charges under Section 302 could be added to the FIR”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2015.