A sessions court has directed the superintendent of police concerned to change the investigating officer of the murder case of an eight-year-old boy, who was shot dead in the Clifton area last month.
Muhammad Umer was shot dead allegedly by a security guard of a high-end restaurant near the Bilawal House roundabout on November 13. A murder case was registered against the guard, Jan Muhammad, on the complaint of the victim’s father, Khadim Khan. The accused is still at large.
Khan through his lawyer Shahid Hussain Soomro moved an application with Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Uzma Khan seeking replacement of the incumbent investigating officer of the case for being “biased”.
The judge observed that the applicant’s plea required consideration because of the heinous nature of the crime and directed the SP concerned to appoint a new IO to conduct a “fair and impartial” investigation into the case.
The counsel argued that the child was allegedly murdered by the accused, Jan Muhammad, after which the victim’s father got an FIR registered against him under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at the Boat Basin police station. He alleged that the IO was conducting an investigation in a partial manner and apprehended that he might damage the evidence. The court, therefore, was pleaded to order replacement of the IO.
The complainant, a rickshaw driver, stated in the FIR that he was in the Defence area when his elder son, Ahmed, informed him that the guard of a restaurant had allegedly shot and injured his younger son Umer and taken him to hospital. He said he along with his wife and elder son rushed to the spot but couldn’t find Umer.
Later, he said two people, on seeing his wife crying, walked towards them and took the family in their car to the Jackson police station where the boy’s body was lying an ambulance.