Court orders custody transfer of seven accused in school demolition case

The Provincial Anti-Corruption Court (PACC) has ordered the relevant prison authorities to hand over the custody of seven suspects allegedly involved in demolition of the Jufelhurst School to the investigation officer (IO) concerned, Inspector Imtiaz Channa.

The case now has been transferred to the court of the PACC, which has been directed by the district and sessions judge concerned to try the accused.

The PACC ordered the jail authorities to hand over the custody of FIA Inspector Adnan Ali, ASI Irshad Ahmed, ASI Hakim Ali, builder Sajjad Bashir, contractor Ameen, surveyor Ghulam Fareed and former mukhtiarkar Ahmed Memon to the investigation officer of the case.

These seven accused were sent on judicial remand, while another accused, Zeeshan, was granted bail. A case against the suspects was registered by the school's headmaster, Muhammad Shafiq.

SHO Soldier Bazar Irshad Soomro and his other accomplices allegedly involved in the incident have also been arrested by the CTD police and they are being interrogated on the orders of the court concerned.

The Jufelhurst School was established in 1931 by Sybil D’Abero, who had also built her 500-yard residence within the school boundary. The building was declared a heritage site by the Sindh Culture Department.

NBW for MQM leaders 

A local court once again issued non-bailable arrest warrant against fifteen leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan, including Dr Farooq Sattar, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Nasreen Jalil, Faisal Sabazwari, Muhammad Hussain and Kanwar Naveed Jamil.

They are accused of illegally using loudspeaker during a protests demonstration staged in front of the Chief Minister House last year against water crises in the city.

The court of the judicial magistrate also issued notice to the state attorney to appear and file his reply on the plea of Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar, who had sought acquittal from the case as no proofs of his involvement in this case were presented before the court.

Sindh Assembly opposition leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan, MQM-P leader Mehfooz Yar Khan and MQM-London leader Advocate Sathi Ishaq are also co-accused in this case.

The court was told that the party leaders held a protest demonstration on June 5 last year in front of the Chief Minister House and scaled containers and pushed aside barricades.

The party leaders had said that the protest demonstration had been staged for addressing water crisis in Karachi.

The then chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had termed it a ‘wrong precedent’ set by the MQM and the police authorities had noted it as a violation of an understanding they had reached with the party.

Hearing adjourned

Hearing of 52 cases of possession of illicit weapons registered against 26 activists of the MQM was adjourned by an ATC till May 24.

The attorneys for the accused had pleaded that all cases should be treated as one major case instead of presenting separate charge-sheets in each case; the plea was granted.

The men were arrested by Rangers in March 11, 2015 raid on MQM’s headquarter Nine Zero. The Rangers’ attorneys, however, opposed the plea adding that the statements of the witnesses against the accused had been recorded and treating all the cases as a single case could affect the cases’ past proceedings.