KARACHI: The investigation officer has submitted an interim charge sheet to an anti-terrorism court in a case pertaining to an alleged short-term kidnapping and robbery of cryptocurrency worth 8,600 USDT, excluding the name of actor Muneeb Butt from the list of accused persons.
An FIR was registered at the Airport police station on the complaint of Mutaal Khan, who alleged that he was kidnapped at gunpoint while on his way to the airport on April 22 and was released after the abductors took his laptop and mobile phones and forcibly transferred 8,600 USDT from his account.
Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) Inspector Farhan Soomro filed the charge sheet before the administrative judge of anti-terrorism courts, placing the names of Muneeb Butt and another suspect Shahid Sattar in the column-II with blue ink, recommending that they be discharged from the case as no evidence was found to show their involvement in the alleged crime.
The IO placed one suspect, police constable Ghalib, in the same column with red ink, meaning he was an absconder.
He, however, has charge-sheeted five suspects -- including three held suspects, Hamza Rizwan, Muhammd Saleem Aleem, and Wazir. The two other suspects are Mohsin Rajpar and Abdul Rehman Chandio, who are out on bail.
The investigating officer stated that Hamza and Saleem confessed before the police that they, along with security guard Wazir and police constable Ghalib, chased the complainant as he left his home for the airport. The suspects claimed that they were in Rajpar’s vehicle having a government number plate, he added.
The suspects said they intercepted Mutaal Khan near a petrol pump on Sharea Faisal and had him sit in their vehicle at gunpoint before snatching his laptop, two mobile phones and forcibly transferring 8,600 USDT from his account.
The IO stated that the suspects confessed that they had fled to Islamabad after the crime, alleging that Rajpar and Chandio had contacted their friends Muneeb Butt and Shahid through WhatsApp conference call, who then arranged for their stay. They said they went to Murree next day when Rajpar received a phone call informing that the police were looking for them.
The investigating officer said the double cabin vehicle used in the crime was recovered from a plot near Rajpar’s bungalow, adding that the snatched laptop and mobile phones were also recovered from the held suspects.
The IO said Shahid, who was arrested on suspicion of facilitating the suspects, was released as no evidence was found to keep him behind bars. He said Butt also joined the investigation after obtaining pre-arrest bail from the court and handed over his cellphone for forensic analysis.
The investigating officer said Rajpar and Chandio were verbally and through notices directed to produce their mobile phones used by them for forensic examination as evidence. However, he added that both claimed that their mobile phone sets had been lost and failed to produce them, adding that they also could not provide any proof regarding the alleged loss of the phones.
He charge-sheeted Rajpar and Chandio for alleged offences punishable under sections 109 (punishment of abetment), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), 202 (intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Earlier, an FIR was lodged under sections 365-A (kidnapping or abducting for extorting property, valuable security, etc.), 392 (punishment for robbery) and 34 (common Intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code, read with Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act.
In his scrutiny note, the state prosecutor opined that the case did not fall within the ambit of terrorism.
