‘Hitman’ Identified In Shahid Hamid Murder Case

Following the killing of managing director of the then Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, Shahid Hamid, nineteen years ago, his widow and son identified a suspect as one of the four hitmen in an identification parade held in the presence of a judicial magistrate on Saturday.

Muhammad Minhaj Qazi alias Asad, the suspect, with his accomplices have charged in a case involving the July 5^th 1997 killing of the then KESC MD, his driver and a guard in the Defence Housing Authority.

A Muttahida Qaumi Movement worker, Saulat Ali Khan, known as Saulat Mirza was sentenced to death by an antiterrorism court in 1999 in this case. He was executed in Macch jail in Balochistan on May 12, 2015.

The suspect, on Saturday, was presented before the city courts with heavy security. Following the legal formalities, the identification parade was led by Judicial Magistrate (south) Anees Rehman Buriro.

Shahnaz Hamid, an ex-bureaucrat, the widow and son, Omar Shahid Hamid were eyewitnesses and identified the suspect during the parade.

While trying to discover the suspect’s role in the alleged offence, both witnesses stated that he was one of the four hitmen involved in the killing.

Both witnesses recorded their statements under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code, saying that on July 5, 1997, gunshots were heard some time after elder Hamid left his house for work. Once they came out, they noticed four men firing at the car with Kalashnikov assault rifles.

Both mother and son highlighted in their statements the identity of Saulat Mirza, as one of the shooters, who was executed last year.

They claimed that Mr Hamid was fighting against corruption and taking measures to reorganize the power utility. However, some people hated his efforts.

They added that at that time the Muttahida Qaumi Movement played a major role in the KESC. Union representatives, alongside some MQM ministers had ganged up against the slain MD.

According to them, MQM’s Dr Farooq Sattar, Waseem Akhtar, Nasreen Jalil and her husband had threatened Mr. Hamid. They went on to add that Dr Sattar, Mr Akhtar and Shoaib Bukhari had insulted Hamid during a meeting at Chief Minister House.

The elder Hamid’s widow deposed that they wanted her husband removed from his position as they deemed him a risk. Then came his assassination.

The suspect, Qazi told the magistrate that he had been tortured. He claimed that he had been unable to change his clothes since his February detention.

He expressed his detest towards the identification parade and that his photographs were being displayed on private TV channels almost daily and anyone could pick him out. The magistrate interrupted him, telling him that he was only recording the witnesses’ statements and that he could raise his issues before the trial court.

Minhaj Qazi was held by Rangers, on February 3, 2016 and was placed under a 90-day preventive detention for inquiries over his alleged involvement in terrorism cases.

Down the line, he was for formally arrested by the police over the Shahid Hamid murder case and acquired his remand from an ATC.

The prosecution claimed that the then SHO of Gulbahar police station, Mohammad Aslam Khan, known as Chaudhry Aslam, arrested Saulat Mirza at Karachi airport in December 1998. Mirza, during the investigation, confessed to killing the former KESC chief and named his accomplices.

According to the prosecution, the offence was committed to avenge the removal of MQM supporters from the KESC by the then MD.

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Posted by modousarr on May 16 2016. Filed under Latest News, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.