Court acquits Lakhvi in kidnapping case
Prosecution fails to produce persuasive evidence in kidnapping case
Prosecution fails to produce persuasive evidence in kidnapping case. PHOTO: NDTV
ISLAMABAD:
A district and sessions court acquitted on Tuesday Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in a six-and-a-half-year old case pertaining to the abduction of a man for want of evidence.
The district and sessions judge east, Tanvir Mir, acquitted Lakhvi on a criminal review filed under section 249-A (power of Magistrate to acquit accused at any stage) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The case has ended even before the suspect could be indicted in the case.
In December last year, the Golra police had registered a case against Lakhvi for allegedly kidnapping Anwar Khan, a resident of Islamabad, some six years ago. According to the FIR, the complainant Muhammad Daood reported to the police that Lakhvi had abducted his brother-in-law Anwar Khan six and a half years ago for his forced participation in ‘jihad’.
Lakhvi’s counsel said that the kidnapping case registered against his client was false and the police made a concocted story to keep Lakhvi in jail after the Islamabad High Court had suspended the government’s order to detain him.
The counsel said that Lakhvi was in jail for the last six years but no case had been registered against him. Besides, the complainant never appeared before the court.
In his arguments, the Special Public Prosecutor Aamir Nadeem Tabish said that delay in the registration of the case was well explained in the FIR. “FIR was delayed because the complainant was continuously threatened,” the prosecutor added.
While requesting the court to frame charges against Lakhvi, Tabish said that no one could be released just because the complainant did not come forward earlier. The prosecutor said that Lakhvi’s acquittal will be challenged before the Islamabad High Court.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2015.
A district and sessions court acquitted on Tuesday Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in a six-and-a-half-year old case pertaining to the abduction of a man for want of evidence.
The district and sessions judge east, Tanvir Mir, acquitted Lakhvi on a criminal review filed under section 249-A (power of Magistrate to acquit accused at any stage) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The case has ended even before the suspect could be indicted in the case.
In December last year, the Golra police had registered a case against Lakhvi for allegedly kidnapping Anwar Khan, a resident of Islamabad, some six years ago. According to the FIR, the complainant Muhammad Daood reported to the police that Lakhvi had abducted his brother-in-law Anwar Khan six and a half years ago for his forced participation in ‘jihad’.
Lakhvi’s counsel said that the kidnapping case registered against his client was false and the police made a concocted story to keep Lakhvi in jail after the Islamabad High Court had suspended the government’s order to detain him.
The counsel said that Lakhvi was in jail for the last six years but no case had been registered against him. Besides, the complainant never appeared before the court.
In his arguments, the Special Public Prosecutor Aamir Nadeem Tabish said that delay in the registration of the case was well explained in the FIR. “FIR was delayed because the complainant was continuously threatened,” the prosecutor added.
While requesting the court to frame charges against Lakhvi, Tabish said that no one could be released just because the complainant did not come forward earlier. The prosecutor said that Lakhvi’s acquittal will be challenged before the Islamabad High Court.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2015.