Fake owner, another accused sent to central jail on 14-day remand

A court granted 14-day judicial remand of a builder and another man standing trial on charges of involvement in the demolition of the Jufelhurst School’s heritage building located in the Soldier Bazaar area.

The builder, Zeeshan Altaf, appeared in custody before Judicial Magistrate (East) Ayaz Ahmed, who declined a request of the investigation officer (IO) to extend the physical remand of the accused, who had already obtained bail in a connected case. 

The court directed the IO to send Altaf to the central prison on 14 days’ judicial remand and submit the charge sheet without any further delay.

Altaf is facing charges of having pretended to be the owner of the building under fake documents.

A case against the suspects was registered by the school’s headmaster, Muhammad Shafiq.

Station House Officer Irshad Soomro of Soldier Bazaar Police Staiton and his accomplices have been arrested by the Counter Terrorism Department. A team of the department is questioning the suspects on court orders. The Jufelhurst School was established in 1931 by Sybil D’Abero, who had also constructed her 500-yard residence within the school boundary. The school building and the house were declared a heritage site by the Sindh culture department last year.

Heritage status

The  CTD had recorded on Friday a statement of the provincial heritage department’s deputy director, Abdul Fatah Shaikh, who said the Jufelhurst School building demolished on April 8 had been declared protected last year.

Talking to The News, DIG Amir Farooqi of Sindh’s CTD said that in his statement, Shaikh said: “The demolished portion of the Jufelhurst School building highlighted in the attached map in colour yellow is part of the protected heritage building under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act, 1994.” He added: “It was decided in a meeting of the advisory committee, headed by the Sindh chief secretary, to declare the Jufelhurst School building as protected heritage. Accordingly, the building was declared as protected heritage by the Sindh Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Department. The notification No. was OSD/CHC/05-27/2012 dated January-29, 2016.”

Plea for commission

The Sindh High Court has issued notices to the Sindh advocate general, the secretary culture and heritage department and others on petition seeking constitution of commission to probe demolition of the school building in Soldier Bazaar area.

The court has also been requested to punish the culprits involved in demolition of the heritage declared building.

The petition, filed on behalf of the Amity International by its president Mehfooz Yar Khan, said builder mafia with connivance of officials of the police and the revenue and building control authority had demolished the school building and the bungalow on April 9. The petitioner said if a proper inquiry through a commission was not conducted then the builder mafia and corrupt officials in the building control authority and the revenue department could not be held accountable.