ATC rejects bail plea of former UC chairman in Ranjhani killing case

An anti-terrorism court on Friday rejected the bail application of a former union council chairman Abdul Raheem Shah accused of killing a political activist--cum suspected robber.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-affiliated Nawaz Shah and police officer Riaz Hussain have been booked for the murder of Irshad Ranjhani, who was a local office-bearer of the Jeay Sindh Tehreek in the Malir district of the city.

The ATC-13 judge observed that the trial had recently begun, and on this stage releasing the accused, who the prosecution claimed to have possessed evidence against, could be harmful. He rejected the application, finding it meritless. It was the second bail plea moved by the accused in the trial court.

The order read that according to the medico-legal report, Ranjhani had suffered five bullet injuries. His brother had argued that Ranjhani was shot in police custody as a viral video of the incident showed victim had no bullet wounds in the head and mouth.

Shah’s counsel Ahmed Nawaz had argued in support of the bail plea, saying that his client fired at Ranjhani in self-defence because the he along with his accomplices who ran away had tried to rob the defendant.

He added that his client’s vehicle bore bullet marks which were a piece of evidence that he came under attack from Rnajhani and his accomplices, and Shah acted in his self-defence.

The prosecutor, Ghulam Murtaza, and the complainant’s lawyer, Asadullah Rashdi, opposed the bail plea on the ground that earlier the court had also dismissed a bail plea on merit. Maitlo said that during the investigation and material collected by the IO, who showed the applicant as accused in the final charge sheet, thus he was facing trial for the murder of an innocent person.

The FIR was registered under the sections 393 (attempt to commit robbery), 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab), 302 (premeditated murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Shah Latif Town police station.