Kot Radha Kishan case: LHC adjourns hearing of bail requests till March 12

Sajjad and his wife Shama were beaten to death on November 4, 2014 by a mob.

LAHORE: A division bench of Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday adjourned till March 12 the hearing of bail applications of seven people, accused of murdering a Christian couple in Kot Radha Kishan.

The bench deferred the hearing after it was informed that the matter was pending before the Supreme Court.

Accused Haris Bashir, Waqas Bashir, Arsalan Attique, Usman Attique, Muhammad Hanif, Abdul Latif and Nisar Ahmad had filed bail applications in the LHC after an Anti-Terrorism Court had turned down their requests.

Former president of Kasur Bar Association Arif Sindhu, who is representing Waqas Bashir, appeared before the court on Monday along with 20 other lawyers.

Rai Bashir Ahmed, the counsel for Hanif, is a former member of Punjab Bar Council and a former member of the judicial commission for appointment of judges. The accused have claimed that were not present in the area on the day of the incident.

The applicants’ counsel submitted that police had implicated them in the case on the instigation of their opponents. They said they were not involved in the murders.

They submitted that their statements had not been recorded by police.

The counsel representing the deceased couple’s children had told the court that police had arrested only those involved in the murders.

Sajjad Masih and his wife Shama, brick kiln workers from Chak-59, were beaten to death on November 4, 2014, by a mob of over 400 people. Their bodies were then thrown into a brick kiln.

Police had submitted challan of over 50 people in the Anti-Terrorism Court. A total of 59 nominated accused were arrested.

Bail applications of 12 accused are still pending with the trial court.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2015.