Islamabad murder case: Policemen’s remand extended for a week

ISLAMABAD: Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Raja Jawwad Abbas Hassan on Wednesday extended by seven days the physical remand of five policemen who were in custody for the alleged murder of Usama Satti.

During the hearing, the judge reprimanded the investigation officer over crime scene photographs. The investigation officer, Muhammad Azam, presented the accused before the ATC on the completion of their previous remand.

“Was the youngster shot from behind?” the ATC judge asked the investigation officer, to which the latter responded in the affirmative. To another question, the investigation officer said five bullets hit Usama from behind.

At this, the judge questioned how a bullet could hit the victim from behind without piercing the seat of the car he was driving when he was shot at, and asked the police official to show a picture of the front seat to substantiate his claim.

The investigator replied that he had not taken such a photo, drawing the ire of the court. “This means you are all hand-in-gloves,” the judge remarked, and asked the cop to place on record the photo so that it could be made part of the case trial.

“I am 50 years old. Will you shoot me if I don’t pull over?” the judge said, addressing the accused and asked them to relate how the incident took place. One of the accused said they received a voice message from a police official about a robbery bid and they were called to Kashmir Highway to intercept a white car with four people in it.

“Your vehicle was big, while that of Usama small,” the judge snapped back. “Don’t you know how to stop a vehicle? Will you spray it with bullets?” The court expressed displeasure over the IO for failing to take photos of the crime scene. Later, the court granted seven day physical remand of accused.