Police on Thursday submitted the challan in the Noor Mukadam murder case to a sessions court in Islamabad, a private TV channel reported.
Additional Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani, presiding over the case after it was transferred to him from Sessions Judge Kamran Basharat Mufti, said copies of the challan would be distributed in the next hearing on September 23 once all suspects were present.
Meanwhile, the court extended the judicial remand of Zahir Jaffer – the prime suspect in the murder case, his parents and three of their household staff, identified as Iftikhar, Jan Muhammad and Jameel, till the next hearing. The judge also summoned six Therapyworks employees who are suspects in the case, on Sept 23. Therapyworks, a counselling and psychotherapy service, had come under public scrutiny as the murder investigation unfolded and it was revealed that the primary suspect was associated with it.
During the hearing on Thursday, the counsel for Zahir’s parents, Raja Rizwan Abbasi, said that the six Therapyworks employees were given bail and the court should issue a summons notice to them.
He also said a request for an in-camera hearing would be submitted to which the judge responded, “The application will be looked at in accordance with the law once it is submitted.”
Zahir, his parents – Zakir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee – and the three other suspects were present in today’s hearing. Thursday’s challan submission came after a considerable delay, with the deadline having already expired in mid-August. Police officers involved in the investigation had said on condition of anonymity that under the law, the challan of a case should be submitted to the court within 14 days after the suspect is sent on judicial remand. The main suspect in the murder case, Zahir, was sent on judicial remand on Aug 2.
When contacted, investigating officer of the case, Inspector Abdul Sattar, had said that neither a complete nor an incomplete challan had been submitted to the court. He said some reports were awaited which had resulted in the delay. “Not submitting the challan to the court within the legal deadline is a violation of the law,” another officer had said, adding the investigators should have followed the rules.
Noor, 27, was found murdered at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20. A first information report (FIR) was registered later the same day against Zahir, who was arrested from the site of the murder, under Section 302 (premeditated murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of the victim’s father, Shaukat Ali Mukadam.
