KARACHI: A sessions court on Tuesday acquitted a man and woman for lack of evidence, who were booked for charges of abetment and murder of their four TikToker friends over personal dispute.

The four victims — Ruqayya Muskan, Amir Khan, Rehan Shah and Saddam Hussain — were killed when an unknown assailant attacked the car they were travelling in near Anklesaria Hospital in February 2021.

Two accused persons — Abdul Rehman Khan, alias Shooter and Sawera — were indicted for committing offences punishable under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 202 (intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform), 112 (abettor when liable to cumulative punishment for act abetted and for act done) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

On Tuesday, after hearing arguments from prosecution and defence counsel Abid Zaman, Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Abdul Hafeez Lashari, acquitted the duo for lack of evidence against them.

Four content creators were gunned down in a car near Anklesaria Hospital in 2021

In its detailed order, the judge mentioned multiple reasons for acquitting the accused persons and noted that the prosecution had attempted to establish that a prior dispute between both the parties allegedly linked with TikTok activities or personal differences was the motive behind the murder; however, he added: “This aspect of the case has not been proved through reliable and independent evidence.”

Regarding the prosecution witnesses, the court noted that the complainant admitted before the court that his knowledge of the incident was based on information received from others, while he also stated in court during the examination that the present accused person was not “real culprit”.

Another witness, who was waiting for his passenger, had describe the incident before the court but could not identified the accused person as the culprit and the motorcycle.

According to the defence counsel before the trial, the legal heirs of the three victims — Amir, Rehan and Saddam — had filed affidavits in which they stated that they had reached a compromise and did not wish to pursue the case against the accused, as they had pardoned them.

The court observed that where the motive is not established through convincing evidence, it loses its significance altogether, adding: “In the present case, the prosecution has failed to prove motive through credible evidence, and the same remains a mere allegation without and rather adds to the doubt surrounding the involvement of the accused.”

Regarding the alleged CCTV footage of the incident, the court noted that no technical expert or relevant official had been examined to verify the footage, while the alleged footage only showed the presence of a motorcyclist and the incident, but did not clearly identify the accused.

The court highlighted the lacunae in the recovery of the alleged crime weapon and noted that the empties of a 9mm pistol were recovered from the crime scene and sent for forensic examination along with the recovered weapon, which were found to have matched. A separate case was registered, and the verdict is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday (today).

It added that the prosecution had failed to associate any independent witness from the locality of the accused’s house at the time of the recovery of the weapon.

According to the prosecution, in the early hours of Feb 2, accused Rehman, at the instigation of accused Sawera, intercepted a car near Anklesaria Hospital in which four people were travelling.

It further alleged that due to his estranged relationship with victim Muskan and after a quarrel, the accused took out his pistol and fired shots at the four, who later succumbed to their injuries.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2026