Lahore hospital rampage: 46 lawyers sent to jail on judicial remand

By News Desk

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Thursday sent 46 lawyers to jail on judicial remand for their alleged involvement in an attack at a Lahore hospital a day earlier, however, the court turned down request for their physical remand.

The police booked more than 250 lawyers in two cases for storming the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), beating up medics and damaging equipment at the health facility on Wednesday.

The police produced the lawyers, including Adnan Bhatti, Basharat Abbas and Sajjad Rasheed, before ATC Judge Abdul Qayyum Khan on Thursday. The investigation officer pleaded with the court for 14-day judicial remand of the accused for identification parade.

However, the defence counsel argued photographs of all the accused had been taken at the time of occurrence and their custody. He also requested medical examination of the accused while claiming they had been tortured.

Subsequently, the court accepted the investigation officer’s request and granted six-day judicial remand for identification parade. The court ordered the lawyers’ medical examination and directed they should be produced on December 18.

The court turned down a request for physical remand of four lawyers involved in the same case and sent them to jail on 14-day judicial remand. The investigation officer submitted the accused — Tayyab Rasool, Rana Muhammad Aslam, Asad Salman and Ali Raza — were also arrested in the case and requested for their 14-day physical remand. However, the court turned down the request. There was no justification for physical remand as no specific role had been assigned to the accused neither it was mentioned the accused had any weapon of offence, it observed.

The court sent the accused to jail on judicial remand for 14 days and directed they should be produced on December 26. The court also asked the investigation officer for filing the Challan within the said period, besides medical examination of all the accused.

In a second case relating to the same Lahore hospital attack, the court rejected a request for physical remand of seven lawyers and sent them to jail on judicial remand till December 26. The investigation officer stated the accused — Umar Ghaffar, Waqas Ali, Fahad Sultan and others — had been arrested in connection with FIR 670/2019. He requested for 14-day physical remand of the accused for investigations. However, the court turned down the request for physical remand.

The court sent the accused to jail on judicial remand for 14 days and directed they should be produced on December 26. The court also asked the investigation officer for filing the Challan within the said period, besides medical examination of all the accused.