MIRPURKHAS/UMERKOT: Anti-terrorism court Mirpurkhas on Wednesday did not allow bail before the arrest plea of former Mirpurkhas DIG Javed Sonharo Jiskani and ex-SSP Asad Ali issuing non-bailable warrants for their arrest in Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar murder case, who was allegedly killed in a staged encounter in Sindhri on Sept 19.

Counsels for Dr Kunbhar’s family, Barrister Asadullah Shah Rashdi and Azhar Arain told the court that FIA officials were inefficient as they had failed even to produce required CCTV footage and mobile phones of the accused.

They expressed dissatisfaction on the initial report filed by FIA officials as well as the police report and demanded the court order judicial inquiry into the murder case so that justice could be served to the bereaved family.

The FIA officials requested the court grant them more time for investigating the case but the court adjourned the hearing till Dec 18.

Dr Kunbhar’s family sticks to the demand for judicial inquiry Dr Kunbhar’s family reiterated their demand for judicial inquiry into the murder and expressed serious reservations over the FIA’s handling of the murder case.

Advocate Ibrahim Kunbhar, late Dr Kunbhar’s father Mohammad Saleh and brother Babar Kunbhar said at a media talk in Janhero village that Dr Kunbhar was subjected to severe torture before his death and his body was later burned by an enraged mob.

Advocate Ibrahim said that the issuance of the arrest warrants for DIG Jiskani and SSP Asad, who had reportedly gone into hiding, had been unnecessarily delayed.

He alleged the phones submitted to the court were new and smacked of fraud, requiring separate legal action.

It transpired during the court proceedings that the FIR against those responsible for the staged encounter was based on an investigation report prepared by a team, which was formed by Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP).

This report had categorised the encounter as staged, therefore it was demanded that statements of the members of the team who had authored the report be recorded as witnesses, an action the FIA was yet to take, he said.

The family of Dr Kunbhar reiterated the demand that the Sindh government form a judicial commission under the supervision of a senior judge of Sindh High Court to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation, he said.

They expressed frustration over frequent delays in hearing and warned they would file a constitutional petition if a judicial inquiry was not initiated, he said.

He said that exhumation report of medical board had found that Dr Kunbhar had sustained four fractures while he was still alive but these findings were conspicuously absent from the initial post mortem report.

He called for action against the doctor who was responsible for the flawed autopsy report and threatened legal action if the health department failed to act against him.

He accused certain quarters of obstructing justice and said the family reiterated their demand for a judicial inquiry to ensure accountability of the accused and justice for Dr Kunbhar.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2024