Daily Times

The duty magistrate court here Wednesday granted a one-day transit remand of Awami Muslim League’s leader Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed to the Murree Police in a case pertaining to obstruction in official matters.

The AML chief was produced in the court of duty magistrate Riffat Mehmood Khan amid foolproof security arrangements.

At the outset of hearing, prosecutor Muhammad Adnan said that the accused was currently at the Central Jail Adiala, Rawalpindi on judicial remand, and the Murree Police wanted to produce him before the relevant court in its area.

The investigation officer of Murree Police, Shakeel Ahmed, informed the court that Sheikh Rasheed had already been included in the investigation process of the case and prayed for issuance of his summon orders.

Sheikh Rasheed’s lawyer Ali Bokhari said the judicial magistrate had rejected the request for the transit remand of the accused. The transit remand and the travel remand were different things.

On a judge’s query, the investigation officer said they had filed the request for transit remand first time. The judicial magistrate had previously asked the police to complete the legal procedure to get the remand, he added.

Ali Bokhari Advocate said the Murree Police being the complainant of the first information report was not authorized to investigate his client. He asked whether the Punjab home secretary, Rawalpindi deputy commissioner and the administration concerned had been informed about the arrest of Sheikh Rasheed.

The lawyer pointed out that as the police had already recovered required articles from the house of his client there was no need for his remand.

Sheikh Rasheed told the court that the Murree Police had also investigate him in connection with the FIR. He denied pointing a gun at the police officials during the raid at his house.

The court asked the defence to produce the order of judicial magistrate, who had rejected the transit remand. The police said the court had not issued any written order in that regard, rather only verbal instructions were issued.

After listening to the arguments, the court granted the Murree Police a one-day transit remand of Sheikh Rasheed and instructed it to produce him again before it on Thursday at 2 p.m.

The Murree Police registered the FIR against Sheikh Rasheed for putting resistance during the raid at his house in the case with regard to allegations against former president Asif Ali Zardari.