Post-arrest bail pleas of Khadija, others: LHC DB shows displeasure to prosecution, police officials

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday showed its displeasure to the prosecution and the police officials for rendering poor assistance during hearing of the post-arrest bail petitions of Khadija Shah and others in the Corps Commander House attack case.

The court rose for Wednesday (today) after counsel of Khadija Shah sought time to present the copy of a LHC order.

Earlier, Justice Aalia Neelum, who headed the bench, warned the Investigating Officer (IO) of contempt proceedings if he again failed to appear before the court on time.

The CCPO Lahore assured the bench that the IO would attend the future hearings strictly on time.

Asked about the status of challan of the case, the CCPO told the bench that challan had been submitted to the trial court.

However, SSP Investigation, who also heads the joint investigation team, said the trial court returned the challan to the prosecution for scrutiny.

“It means the challan has not been submitted yet,” the bench asked.

Special Prosecutor told the bench that two persons were killed and 46 injured during the attack on the Corps Commander House.

He said both victims Abdulah and Abdul Qadir were shot in the head.

He said as many as 250 suspects had been discharged in the case for want of evidence.

The prosecutor said Khadija Shah had been arrested after her presence on the alleged occurrence was proved through geo-fencing. He said the prosecution witnesses also identified her during the identity parade.

He said Ms Shah made five calls through her mobile phone during the incident and posted inciting tweets before and after the May 9 riots.

He said the woman suspect was involved in ransacking the property of the Corps Commander House and the police recovered a club from her possession.

The prosecutor also told the bench that the suspect vandalized household articles in the Corpus Commander House.

Justice Aalia Neelum noted that the prosecution had not placed even a single video of inside the property out of a total of 600 videos of the incident.

“Did police obtain video footage from the media?” the judge asked the prosecutor.

The prosecutor said the journalists of mainstream media were outside the corps commander's house.

He said some Youtubers, who claimed to be journalists, made videos of the violence inside the premises.

The counsel of Khadija Shah, said the petitioner was picked up on May 19 along with her husband and father. He said the husband and the father were released on order issued by the LHC.

A counsel for other petitioners/suspects said his clients were not even present at the alleged occurrence. He said the mobile record of the petitioners denied the claim of the police.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023