Bail plea of eatery owner dismissed in murder case

A sessions court on Thursday dismissed the bail application of a restaurant owner in a murder case. Musawir Tunio was booked along with two waiters of his restaurant after a 31-year-old man, Zain Abbasi, died on July 31 after allegedly having coffee laced with some poisonous substance at the eatery situated in DHA Phase I.

The accused moved an application before Additional Sessions Judge (South) Ihsan Ali Malik seeking confirmation of the interim pre-arrest bail granted to him on October 5. After hearing both sides, the judge dismissed the bail plea of the accused and cancelled his interim bail.

The judge noted that as per the record, there was no dispute as to the presence of the deceased at the restaurant, adding that he started vomiting and his condition worsened after he returned home.

He said that analysis of the deceased's organ samples revealed traces of caffeine, methamphetamine and cannabis in his system. "The medical evidence also corroborates the ocular account. Tentative assessment of material available on record prima facie connects the applicant with the commission of offence, which falls within the ambit of the prohibitory clause of section 497 of CrPC," he added.

According to the prosecution, on July 31, Zain was present at the restaurant in DHA Phase I in connection with a business deal with its owner Tunio, where he was served a cup of coffee. Zain started vomiting after he returned home and was rushed to a private hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

The complainant's lawyers, Jibran Nasir and Daniyal Muhammad Hussain, contended that the deceased man was served coffee containing an overdose of cannabis, methamphetamine, caffeine and nicotine at the restaurant. The counsel said that the accused managed CCTV footage of the restaurant, showing the deceased in its parking area at 11:25pm; however, he was at the restaurant from 5pm till 9:30pm, which was proof of mala fide intentions on the applicant's part.

The counsel claimed that their client lost her young son due to the administration of spurious coffee at the hands of the accused, requesting the judge to reject his bail plea. Meanwhile, the defence counsel argued that on July 31, Zain along with his cousin Wasay sat on the rooftop of the restaurant's building and left the premises with his guard in a healthy condition, adding that his client had nothing to do with his death, and that the applicant was being dragged into the case in a mala fide manner.

He said that Zain died due to overdose of methamphetamine/cannabis resulting in cardiopulmonary arrest and added that no poisonous substance was found in the analysis report of his organs. The FIR was lodged at the Darakhshan police station under the sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Nasreen Bano.