SHC dismisses bail plea of man in educationist murder case

The Sindh High Court has dismissed the bail application of a man involved in the murder case of an educationist and directed the trial court to decide the case within three months.

Arsalan was booked by police for facilitating the murder of educationist Syed Khalid Raza in Gulistan-e-Jauhar on February 26, 2023. According to the prosecution, the applicant financed the co-accused, arranged the murder weapon and orchestrated surveillance of the deceased.

A counsel for the applicant submitted that no identification parade had been conducted, nor was there any eyewitness to the occurrence. He submitted that there existed no direct or circumstantial evidence linking the applicant to the offence; rather, he had been implicated on the basis of a statement by a co-accused.

The counsel submitted that the alleged communication and minor monetary transaction between the applicant and the co-accused were insufficient to establish criminal liability as no substantial financial exchange had been unearthed.

He also challenged the purported association between the applicant and a man, Tanz Ansari, terming it a conjecture devised by police to bolster their case. He said the arrest of the applicant was effected from an area near Siki Motorway, Lahore, on March 5, 2023 which was also contested as his mother had lodged a complaint before the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.

A deputy prosecutor general opposed the bail application submitting that the applicant was arrested on the basis of CDR analysis, which reflected communication with the deceased via a SIM card registered in the name of a man, Waseem.

The prosecutor said the prosecution relied on the CDR data and monetary transactions between the applicant and co-accused.

A single bench of the high court headed by Justice Khalid Hussain Shahani after hearing the arguments observed that the investigation officer fetched the CDR data, which eventually led to the arrest of the applicant during the investigation.

The bench observed that the chain of events, as disclosed through statements of the witnesses recorded under the sections 161 and 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) linked the applicant to the SIM through which contact with the deceased was made prior to the incident, which prima facie lent credence to the prosecution's case.

The high court observed that the prosecution alleged that the applicant conducted reconnaissance and received sums from co-accused Mohammad Ali Afridi and these allegations, supported by CDR analysis and money trail, were sufficient at this stage to attract the application of the Section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The SHC observed that the contention of the applicant’s counsel that no identification test parade had been held was untenable because the police file showed that both the complainant and witness identified the accused by describing the distinct role.

The high court observed that the offence alleged was of a heinous nature, carrying capital punishment and falling within the prohibitory clause of the Section 497(1) of the CrPC and in such circumstances, bail could not be granted as a matter of routine.

The SHC dismissed the bail plea observing that prima facie sufficient material existed connecting the applicant with the commission of the alleged offence. The court directed trial court to conclude the trial proceedings within three months.