FIA cop, two others remanded to CTD police for three days

A judge of the East district granted three-day physical remand of FIA Inspector Adnan Ali and two other men to the CTD police on Wednesday over charges of their involvement in the demolition of the Jufelhurst School located in the Soldier Bazaar.

The school’s heritage building and a house on its premises were razed on April 8 by a private builder in collusion with police and other officials. The school had been established in 1931 by Sybil D’Abero, who had also built her 500-yard residence within the school boundary. The suspects, Ali, Zulfiaqr and Amin, appeared in custody before the judicial magistrate, who was informed that the three had approached the court concerned on Tuesday for obtaining bail, but their bail applications had been turned down. 

The court was further told that after the rejection of their bail pleas, the suspects tried to run away from the court premises but were arrested by police. 

The investigation officer (IO) sought two weeks’ physical remand of the accused so they could be interrogated thoroughly. The lawyers for the defendants however asked that their clients should be sent to prison on judicial remand. Instead, the court granted the police three days’ physical remand of the accused.

On April 15, Judicial Magistrate (East) Ayaz Ahmed had granted 14-day judicial remand of a builder and another man standing trial on charges of involvement in the demolition of the Jufelhurst School.

The builder, Zeeshan Altaf, appeared in custody before the judicial magistrate, who declined a request of the 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

On April 14, the Counter Terrorism Department had recorded a statement of the provincial heritage department’s deputy director, Abdul Fatah Shaikh, who said the Jufelhurst School building 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.”

‘ASI is innocent’

ASI Chand Khan and four constables, Abdutas Saleem, Mushtaq, Abdul Waheed and Azeez, were declared innocent by the investigation officer on Wednesday in the murder case of a citizen, Kashif. 

The five cops were said to have killed Kashif in the New Town police limits last year.

The IO told a court that the complainant had manipulated to register the case against the cops to save the skin of a suspected robber, Ansar. 

He charged that Ansar was a companion of Kashif, who was killed in a police encounter. The IO declared the case fake and B-class and filed the final charge sheet in the court.