Karachi
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday adjourned till July 20 the hearing of the murder case of a Lyari gangster Arshad Pappu due to the absence of Investigation Officer Abid Ansari owing to which statements of witnesses could not be recorded.
A local leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and an MNA from Lyari Shahjahan Baloch was presented in court with other under-detention accused in the case. Another gangster Uzair Baloch is also an accused in this case but he was not produced in court.
Arshad Pappu was murdered in March 2013 allegedly by Uzair Baloch and other accomplices to avenge the killing of latter’s father. It is said Uzair Baloch had help from local police officials — Inspector Chand Khan Niazi, SHOs Yousuf Baloch and Javed Baloch — who are under detention.
They had abducted Pappu from Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in March 2013 and then handed him over to the Pappu’s rival group headed by Uzair Baloch.
They tortured the three men and beheaded them, after which the killers played football with Pappu’s head. A video of the incident had gone viral on Youtube.
Pappu had earlier been acquitted in the murder case of Faiz Muhammad alias Mama Faizu, who was Uzair Baloch’s father.
Uzair Baloch, a gangster and leader of the People’s Aman Committee, is booked in a case pertaining to charges of illegal arms and explosives and was sent to prison on judicial remand on May 11. He was previously remanded to the Nabi Bukhsh police station on 14-day physical remand.
During an appearance before the administrative judge of anti-terrorism courts, Muhammad Farooq Shah, the gang leader had himself asked to be sent to jail on judicial remand and not be given to police custody citing health grounds.
An administrative judge while accepting the charges sheet referred the case to ATC-II, that is also hearing Arshad Pappu murder cases against six accused including Shahjahan Baloch, Zubair Baloch (brother of Uzair Baloch) and policeman Chand Khan Niaz. Noor Muhammad Ladla and his accomplices involved in this murder case have been declared as pro-claimed offenders.
The charges sheet submitted against Uzair Baloch also mentions four Rangers’ officers and seven policemen as prosecution witnesses. The charge sheet underlined that Uzair Baloch himself had disclosed the whereabouts when the huge illegal arms were placed and later recovered with his help.
The Rangers had handed over Baloch to the police after questioning him for 90 days in preventive detention under Section 11-EEEE of the Pakistan Protection Act.
They had claimed that Baloch was arrested in January. However, the gang leader had escaped the country after the beginning of Karachi operation in 2013 after which the federal government had issued a red warrant for his arrest.
Baloch reportedly confessed before a joint investigative team about his involvement in the killing of at least 197 people, including Arshad Pappu.