Sessions court confirms pre-arrest bail of Timber Market leader

A sessions court confirmed on Monday the interim pre-arrest bail granted to Muhammad Sharjil Goplani, president of the All Pakistan Timber Traders Association, and three others in a case pertaining to attack on a K-Electric (KE) team.

Goplani, along with his two associates and a local resident, had been booked on charges of rioting, manhandling and holding hostage KE employees when they came to the timber market last month.

On Monday, Goplani, Ali Muhammad, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Arif appeared before the additional district and sessions judge-IX (South) in connection with the hearing of their applications seeking confirmation of interim pre-arrest bail.

The judge confirmed their bail after the complainant’s lawyer filed an affidavit stating that he would have no objection if the bail pleas of the accused are allowed.

Defence counsel Muhammad Asif Khudai said that his clients and the complainant party had patched up, adding that the two sides would file an application before the relevant judicial magistrate for withdrawal of the case. He, therefore, requested the judge to confirm the bail of the applicants.

An FIR was registered under the sections 147 (rioting), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506-B (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 337-A (Shajjah) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Napier police station against Goplani and his associates on the complaint of a KE officer, Tahir Ali.

In his complainant, Ali said he worked as an officer in KE IBC Lyari-II and went along with his staff to the Timber Market where Goplani and 25 to 30 others thrashed them, resulting in injuries to some of the KE employees. A video of the incident also went viral on social media, in which KE staff were seen being subjected to beating.