KARACHI - The police on Tuesday submitted a challan in liquor case and declared former provincial minister Sharjeel Inam Memon co-accused.
Judicial Magistrate (South) conducted hearing of the case wherein Investigation Officer submitted a challan that stated that three bottles were recovered from a hospital room, wherein Sharjeel was under-treatment, one of the three bottles contained alcohol.
“After receiving information about unlawful activities in the VIP room of the hospital that was declared as sub jail, the police searched the room and recovered three bottles and two packets of cigarettes” stated challan.
Challan stated that the unlawful and suspicious movements also captured in CCTV and video clips from the CCTV were taken as evidence.
According to the challan, the three accused Muhammad Jam, Shakaruddin and Mushtaq Ali who were arrested from Clifton Hospital, have confessed that they had hided bottles those contained alcohol. It further stated that suspect Shakarddin admitted that he had thrown the bottles in to the dustbin, the accused have been charged to destroy the evidence weakening the case.
Around fifteen prosecution witnesses were named in the challan. The three accused Muhammad Jam, Shakaruddin and Mushtaq Ali have already got bail.
As many as three police officials have been declared absconders in the case including assistant superintendent jail Naseem Ahmed Shajra, constable Habibullah and a court police constable.
Earlier, medical tests have established that no trace of alcohol was found in the blood sample of Memon. Memon’s blood samples were sent to two hospitals to determine whether Memon was drunk or not after the bottles of alleged liquor were found in his room during treatment.
Chief Justice Saqib Nisar made a surprise visit to Memon’s room at Ziauddin Hospital and found bottles allegedly containing alcohol.
A case registered against PPP leader Sharjeel Memon and three others for the alleged possession of liquor under Section 4 (owning or possessing intoxicant) of the Zia-era law, The Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order (4 of 1979).
The section under which the case has been registered reads: “Whoever owns, possesses or keeps in his custody any intoxicant shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or with whipping not exceeding thirty stripes and shall also be liable to fine.”
The case was registered after Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar paid a surprise visit to Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton during which he found three bottles of liquor in the room of the ex-minister, who told the CJP that the bottles did not belong to him.
Memon was parceled off to Karachi's Central Jail soon after the discovery of liquor in his room, as police and hospital authorities scrambled to save face.
