Court rejects plea to shift DHA double murder suspect to public hospital

A judicial magistrate on Thursday rejected a plea filed by the police to shift the prime suspect in the murder case of anchorperson Mureed Abbas, from a private hospital to a public one as his medical bills at the private facility were unpaid and continued to rise.

The District South judicial magistrate V directed that the suspect, Atif Zaman, should not be moved to another hospital due to unpaid bills, otherwise, the police and the private hospital’s management would be held responsible. The court observed that the injured suspect must be getting better treatment at the private facility.

Zaman had allegedly killed Abbas and a construction contractor, Khizar Hayat, who were reportedly his business partners, over a monetary dispute on the night of July 9 in Defence Housing Authority. He later allegedly tried to commit suicide by shooting himself in the torso at his apartment.

The investigation officer (IO) of the case had moved the application citing that the private hospital had given a notice to the police to shift the suspect elsewhere because his treatment cost was not being paid.

The judge asked the lawyer representing Zaman to get his bills paid. The lawyer said that he could get the issue settled but the police were not letting him meet his client, saying it required the court permission. The judge directed the lawyer to submit his Vakalatnama to gain access to the suspect.

Meanwhile, the judge also directed the IO to get the statements of the eyewitnesses of the incident recorded. He already has sought an investigation report from the police by July 30. On the previous hearing, the IO had told the court that the suspect could not be moved from the hospital due to his health condition.

Initially, two FIRs were registered against Zaman under sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 325 (attempt to commit suicide) of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 at the Darakhshan police station. Later, it transpired that the weapon used in the offence was unlicensed and another FIR was registered against him under the Section 23(1)(a) of the Sindh Arms Act 2013.