5-day physical remand of SSP in Tatla murder case

LAHORE: A magisterial court on Wednesday granted five-day physical remand of senior superintendent of police Mufakhar Adeel who is accused of killing former assistant attorney general Shahbaz Tatla, after the police claimed before the court that the accused has confessed the murder.

The Naseerabad Police produced Mufakhar before the court of Judicial Magistrate Shazia Mehboob and sought 14-day physical remand of the accused. The police claimed before the court that Mufakhar has confessed to killing the former law officer. The police said Mufakhar, after killing Shahbaz, dissolved his body in an acid drum. The police claimed that Mufakhar killed Tatla in connivance with a mutual friend, Assad Bhatti. Moreover, the accused has pointed out the place where he had thrown the acid drum carrying Tatla’s body. The police said they are yet to confirm the statement of the accused along with recovering the body.

The magistrate asked Mufakhar who is his counsel to which he replied that he has no counsel at the time. The court, after hearing Mufakhar, handed him over to the police on a 5-day physical remand. The judge directed the investigation officer to complete investigations in five days and submit a report.

It is pertinent to mention here that a day before Mufakhar had surrendered himself to the Lahore police. The SSP had been hiding in Gilgit-Baltistan for a month.

The police claim that the SSP after his surrender confessed that he first strangled the law officer and then burnt his body in an acid drum. Sources claim that Mufakhar murdered the former law officer in the name of honour as Shahbaz had allegedly illicit relations with the wife of the police officer. The accused planned the murder of Tatla with the connivance of Asad Bhatti. The police claim that the SSP confessed to arranging a drum and acid from a local market and murdered Tatla in a house of Faisal Town which he had taken on rent for the purpose. Mufakhar called his friend to the house, strangled him and burnt his body in the acid drum. Later, the accused disposed of the remains in a drain. The police say the accused has different statements about disposing of the remains as sometimes he says he disposed of the remains in a drain of Township and sometimes says he dumped the remains in Rohi Drain.