Magistrate declines to quash Orangi burglary case

A judicial magistrate on Tuesday rejected the new investigating officer’s recommendation to quash a case pertaining to the theft of Rs20 million and other valuables during a raid on the house of a trader in Orangi Town.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Umair Tariq Bajari and over a dozen other policemen and civilians were booked in November last year on charges of robbery, abduction, house trespass and wrongful confinement after they allegedly looted trader Shakir Khan’s home in Orangi Town and briefly kidnapped him and his brother Amir Khan before releasing them near the Baloch Colony flyover.

The new IO, DSP Syed Balaghat Hussain Shah, filed the final charge sheet before the judicial magistrate (West), recommending the court to cancel the FIR under ‘C’ class on the ground that the complainant wanted to withdraw the case.

However, the magistrate disagreed with the investigation officer’s opinion and took cognizance of the charges against DSP Bajari, police constables Adil and Irshad as well as private persons Izhar Ahmed, Abdul Sattar, Mahfooz Khan, Sohail Ali and Kamran. He also incorporated former District South SSP Imran Qureshi in the case, issuing a non-bailable warrant for his arrest.