A sessions court in Karachi on Tuesday began conducting the
retrial of the Shahzeb Khan murder case as per the Sindh High Court's
order.
On November 28, the high court had revoked the
punishments previously awarded to Shahrukh Jatoi and three others in the
case and ordered a retrial. The SHC had made the decision while hearing
a criminal review application filed by Shahrukh Jatoi's lawyer,
Advocate Farooq H. Naek, in August 2016.
In 2013, an
Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) had awarded the death penalty to co-accused
Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur for Shahzeb's murder. Siraj's younger
brother, Sajjad Ali Talpur, and his servant, Ghulam Murtaza Lashari, had
been handed life sentences.
A couple of months after the
sentence, however, Shahzeb's parents had issued a formal pardon to the
convicts. The pardon was approved by the SHC ─ as was pointed out by
Sindh prosecutor general at the last hearing at the high court.
As
the retrial commenced today, the sessions court was informed of the
pardon and sought a report on the pardon from the high court. The court
remarked that both parties will be summoned with regards to the pardon.
The court ordered that the documents pertaining to the pardon should be verified and submitted before it.
A verified copy of the high court's order to revoke the punishments against the accused was also sought.
The case was adjourned till January 5.
The murder of Shahzeb Khan
Twenty-year-old Shahzeb Khan, the son of Deputy
Superintendent of Police Aurangzeb Khan, had been gunned down in
Karachi's Defence Housing Authority on the night of December 24, 2012
when he was returning home along with his sister after attending a
wedding.
Shahzeb was killed for picking a fight with one of the suspects’ servants, who had verbally threatened and harassed his sister.
Then
chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had taken a suo motu notice of the
incident which sparked widespread outrage across the country through
newspapers, TV channels and social media.
As the prime
accused belonged to powerful feudal families, the incident had triggered
a nationwide debate over whether the country’s elite could be held
accountable for crimes they committed.
Later, after a
speedy trial, Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon of Anti-Terrorism Court-3
sentenced Shahrukh Jatoi and co-accused Nawab Siraj Talpur to death.
Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari, the Talpurs’ servant, were
handed life imprisonment for their involvement in the murder.
An
application — filed on behalf of the victim’s family in the SHC under
Section 345 (2) of the Criminal Procedures Code, asking the court to
allow the convicts and the legal heirs of the victim to settle the
matter out of court — has been pending disposal.
An outrageous crime
Initially, the case (FIR 591/12) was registered under
Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 109 (abetment) and 34 (common
intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the deceased’s
father. However, during the investigation, Section 354 (assault or
criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the PPC
and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 were incorporated in the
FIR.
The episode started with the harassment of accused
Lashari with the victim’s sister. She stated in the trial court that
Lashari had hurled indecent remarks at her as she was about to enter her
11th-floor apartment upon her return from a wedding.
The
teenage girl deposed that she immediately phoned her mother about
harassment from the Talpurs’ servant. The girl’s mother stated in her
deposition in court that she immediately sent her son home as his sister
was in trouble.
The victim returned and had an
altercation with Lashari, which led to a quarrel between him and the
accused persons. The victim’s mother tried to pacify the situation and
directed her son to tender an apology.
The victim did
what his mother asked him to do, but the accused persons did not accept
the apology, saying that they would be satisfied only if Lashari, who
had been employed as a cook by the Talpurs only two days before the
incident, was allowed to slap the victim.
On hearing
those terms, the victim’s mother directed her son to leave the place.
Immediately after Shahzeb's departure, Shahrukh Jatoi had taken out his
pistol and threatened that he would kill Shahzeb.
After
the four co-accused in the case had also departed, the victims’ parents
went to the apartment of the two accused Talpurs’ father, Nawab Imdad
Ali Taplur, to settle the matter.
However, the accused persons meanwhile intercepted the victim at Karachi's Khayaban-i-Bahria and shot him dead.
Two
friends of the victim, Muhammad Shah and Muhammad Ahmed Zuberi, who had
chased the accused persons fearing an assault, witnessed the incident
and deposed in court accordingly.
The two friends stated
in court that Shahzeb rolled over and rested on a side after he was
fired upon. Nawab Sajjad Ali Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari then
walked up to the victim’s car and asked Shahrukh Jatoi to kill the
victim as he was still alive.
Jatoi had then fired more shots at the victim, ensuring his demise.
