CTD cop who shot NICVD doctor denied bail

Additional district and sessions judge South-VI Zahida Parween on Saturday dismissed a bail application filed by a man who allegedly shot a doctor on duty at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), finding it devoid of merit.

Muhammad Kamran, a Counter Terrorism Department’s cop, through his counsel, maintained that he was falsely implicated and argued that even the attempt to murder clause was wrongly invoked in the FIR.

His lawyer said that the complainant, Dr Fahad Abdul Hussain Lakhveer, in his initial statement told the police that he did not know the shooter except that he was clad in shalwar kameez and sworn at doctors before opening fire.

Soon after the shooting, the suspect escaped and Dr Lakhveer was shifted to the Aga Khan Hospital for treatment. He sustained three bullet wounds to his legs, including one lodged in ankle.

According to CTD official Raja Umar Khattab, the suspect returned to his base and told his colleagues that he had shot a doctor after which he was handed over to the Saddar police station.

Khattab added that the suspect was suffering from fatigue and typhoid and had not had a sleep in the past few days. He went to the NICVD emergency the other day and demanded sleeping pills from the doctor on duty then. Over his denial, the suspect became infuriated and returned next day.

Dr Lakhveer, who is a trainee cardiologist, said the suspect asked about the doctor from the previous night, and when he expressed his ignorance, the suspect became annoyed and pulled out a pistol yelling that “you all doctors eat Haram”. He then started firing.

The suspect’s lawyer said that his client was named in the case only because he had a heated argument with the NICVD staff a day before the incident. He added that the suspect was arrested before the registration of the FIR and his official weapon was held as case property. The public prosecutor opposed the bail plea.

The judge in her observation wrote that as far as the arrest before the FIR argument is concerned, then it is placed on record that the incident was promptly reported by the Akbar Base at 0130 hours on June 18 that a person caused gunshot injuries to a doctor at the NICVD.

She added that also the logic put against the inclusion of Section 342 (attempted murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code did not have any force for the simple reason that the use of firearm, especially in the case when the defendant fired multiple shots, is enough to make out prime facie attraction.

She said that the suspect was fully implicated in this case by the complainant and security guards of the NICVD who were witnesses to the incident. “Only tentative assessment is required to decide the bail application and deeper appreciation of the evidence at the later stage,” she remarked.

She said that the defence counsel also failed to disclose any mala fide intention on the part of complainant to falsely accuse the suspect. She said there was sufficient material available with the prosecution to connect the suspect with the offence.

The judge observed that the case laws cited by the defence counsel were distinguishable from the facts of the bail application. She concluded with that there was no merit in the application, which was hereby dismissed.