Rawalpindi - An anti-terrorism court (ATC) yesterday remanded four murder accused for eight days. The accused are allegedly involved in the murder of Shoaib Iqbal Raja, the nephew of ex-law minister Punjab Muhammad Basharat Raja. Those who are given in police custody for eight days included Asad Mehmood Numberdar, a PML-N local leader, Janisar alias Salim Numberdar, Adil Rehman Raja Advocate and Raja Umer Abbasi.
According to details, a police team produced the accused before the court and sought their physical remand for 15 days. However, the court rejected the plea of police and granted remand for 8 days only.
Advocate Qausain Faisal Mufti, who appeared on behalf of accused Adil Rehman Raja, urged the court to discharge his client from the case as he had nothing to do with the murder. He said that Adil Rehman was not nominated in the FIR.
Advocate Shahid Abbasi who appeared on behalf of accused Umer Abbasi said that his client was not present at the crime scene on December 5 when Shoaib Iqbal Raja was shot dead.
Countering the arguments of defence lawyers, Advocate Ilyas Siddiqi said that both Adil and Umer were arrested with Asad Mahmood in Karachi. He said that the two accused facilitated Asad and Ikhlaq, the prime accused, in fleeing Rawalpindi soon after the murder of Shoaib.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court remanded the accused in police custody.Shoaib Iqbal Raja was murdered outside a polling station in Hayal village of Rawalpindi on December 5.
Meanwhile former Punjab Law Minister Muhammad Basharat Raja approached Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench and filed a writ petition against police for harassing his voters and supporters to spoil Shoaib Raja murder case.
The petition was filed through Advocate Sardar Abdul Raziq. The petitioner claimed that police are illegally arresting and harassing residents of Dhamial village. The high court will take up the petition on 15 December.