Police, after a delay of two months, filed the final challan in the Nazim Jokhio murder case.
However, the judicial magistrate refused to accept it and fixed the matter regarding the inclusion of the terrorism charge for arguments.
According to details, the investigating officer (IO) Inspector Siraj Lashari filed a final investigation report, charge-sheeting the detained PPP MPA Jam Awais, his brother MNA Jam Abdul Karim and their eight servants for torturing Nazim to death at Awais’ farmhouse in Malir.
Judicial Magistrate (Malir) Altaf Hussain asked the state prosecutor as well as the counsels for the defence and the complainant to argue on the matter on Feb 3.
In the interim charge-sheet, the IO had named the brothers and 21 of their servants and guards for abducting and torturing Nazim to death.
He also accused Karim and his servant Niaz Salar of abducting the victim, intimidating his family and concealing evidence or giving false information, punishable under Sections 506-B, 34 and 35 of the PPC.
The IO charge-sheeted three other absconding accused, namely Muhammad Meraj, Atta Muhammad and Zahid, with Section 201 for causing evidence to disappear or giving false information.
The IO showed Karim, Salar, Meraj, Atta Muhammad and Zahid as absconders in the final charge-sheet.
He further charged another accused Jamal Ahmed, alias Jamal, with criminal intimidation under Section 506-B.
Lashari said that no evidence was found against six accused — including Muhammad Khan Jokhio, Ishaq Jokhio, Saleem Salar, Muhammad Soomar Salar, Doda alias Dodo Jokhio, Ahmed Khan Shoro and Abdul Razzaq Jokhio.
Therefore, their names were discharged from the case under Section 169 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
He said that the forensic analysis of the USB, which contained video and audio clips, and the sketch of the crime crime were still awaited. He said that they would be submitted to the court as soon as they were received.
He also listed 17 people as prosecution witnesses.
Advocate Mazhar Junejo, the counsel for the complainant Afzal Jokhio, objected to the removal kidnapping charges and the discharging of six nominated suspects.
He also said that Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act should be included in the final challan so that the case could be transferred to an anti-terrorism court and tried accordingly.
Without passing an order on the final charge-sheet, the judge fixed the matter for arguments in this regard on Feb 3.
During the hearing, the IO told the court that an Arab Sheikh went hunting with his servants, Ghulam Haider Jokhio, Meer Hasan Brohi, and a Sindh wildlife department’s game officer Ahmed Khan Shoro on November 2 when they came across Nazim and Abdul Aziz who were returning home on a motorcycle.
“Nazim questioned the Arab Sheikh about having a hunting permit which led to an altercation between the two. The latter broadcasted it live on Facebook which was when the foreigner snatched the mobile phone from him.”
The wildlife official Ahmed Shoro, Ghulam Haider Jokhio and Meer Hassan also arrived in another vehicle and they returned the cell phone to Nazim on the directives of the Arab Sheikh, the IO said.
The IO stated that the Jam brothers took this incident as an insult to them and pressured Afzal Jokhio to force his brother to delete the video of the Arab Sheikhs and also apologise to them. But, Nazim did not listen to them despite threats of dire consequences.
“Instead, Nazim uploaded yet another video on Facebook where he said that he was being pressured to delete the earlier video clip.”
On the directives of Karim, Niaz Salar and Muhammad Soomar Salar and Dodo Salar brought Nazim and Afzal to the Jam House in a car with their “consent”.
On their way, Nazim got out of the vehicle, went to his house, where he sent a voice message to his friend Advocate Mazhar Junejo saying that “Karim’s people had come to take them.”
At the farmhouse, Karim slapped Nazim, snatched his cell phone and deleted the video clips of the Arab Sheikh, and then handed over Nazim to his guards Meer Ali and Haider Ali, who detained him in the guard’s room, while Afzal was dropped off at home.
The IO said Nazim died due to severe torture about which Karim came to know in the morning. He later tried to portray to the police that Nazim died during a quarrel at Jam House.
Quoting sources, the IO said: “Awais, who was drunk at the time, went to the guard’s room, where he along with guards Meer Ali and Haider Ali, tortured Nazim Jokhio by kicking him and using batons, and then left.”
