ORDER SHAHID HAMEED DAR, J. Muhammad Asif seeks bail after arrest as he stands arrested in case F.I.R. No. 136 of 2010 dated 27-6-2010 under section 302, P.P.C., registered at Police Station, Mandra, District Rawalpindi on the complaint of Haji Raja Muhammad Riasat who informed the police that he was on way to his house at about 3-00 p.M on 27-6-2010 when he reached near village Khalsa, he found a taxi car parked along side a katcha passage on a deserted place; he out of inquisitiveness drew near the said car and found the dead body of a youthful person lying in it who had been murdered by some person (s), having fired at him.
2. Ijaz Hussain, the brother of the deceased appeared before the Investigation Officer of this case on- 28-6-2010 and informed the I.O. About the details of the cell phone of the deceased and the SIM number used therein. According to his statement, a cell phone bearing number IMI- 35760500969439 and the SIM number 0346-5473217 were in the use of the deceased in his lifetime.
3. The Investigating Officer with a view to resolve the mystery of the murder of the deceased, whose name later on turned to be Faisal Shahzad of the calls log of the above-said cell phone found a SIM number of the deceased fetched by him which revealed that the cell phone and the SIM of the deceased had been used by one Mst. Balqees Akhtar just within 1-1/2. Hours of the finding of the dead body. Thereafter the cell phone came to the hands of the accused-petitioner who used it from 28-6-2010 to 29-6-2010 and in the meantime 93 SMS messages were transmitted through the cell phone of the deceased to different addressee. The cell phone later on changed hands and after about 15 hours of the occurrence according to the record, it was used by one Muhammad Mansoor son of Ghulam Qadir. The Investigation Officer lastly found that the above-said cell phone again went to the hands of another user Azhar Ahmad Khan son of Muhammad Sadiq resident of Poonj, Azad Kashmir.
4. After having collected the above-said data, the police proceeded ahead with the investigation of this case. The accused-petitioner was arrested on 28-8-2010 being a suspect and his physical custody under the orders of Magistrate continued with the police for nine days but nothing incriminating could be recovered or discovered against him by the Investigation Officer who finally -formulated an opinion qua the non-participation and innocence of the petitioner, but, he was dispatched to the judicial lock-up. The police is still in quest of some connecting evidence against the petitioner.
5. Learned Deputy Prosecutor General on instructions, submits that Investigation Officer has not taken the sufficient rigors, so as to resolve the mystery, hovering over the murder of the deceased.
Muhammad Idrees, S.-I. Is the Investigation Officer of this case who after having gone through the record of this case has informed this court that he has been searching for Mst. Balqees Akhtar, the first user of the cell phone of the deceased and that he had prepared a couple of case diaries in this regard. According to him Mst. Balqees Akhtar was carrying gravidity and hiding somewhere in Rawalpindi but he believed that he would trace her out and associate her in the investigation of this case. The I.O. Submits that he had taken into possession the sunglasses commonly used by the ladies, from the car of the deceased through a recovery memo on 27-6-2010. Mst. Balqees Akhtar appears to be a crucial figure in this case and till she is hauled up and investigated by the police, the mystery of the murder of the deceased might not be resolved.
6. Learned Deputy Prosecutor-General submits that the police has recorded the findings of innocence in favour of the petitioner as it has been found by the I.O. That the accused-petitioner was an authorized dealer of different telecommunication companies Zhong, Wand, U-Fone, Telenor and Mobilink, besides he holds a certificate of professional achievement issued by the Federal Institute of Technology. It has been found during investigation that the petitioner being an authorized dealer had transmitted scores of SMS messages, of "easy load" to various users of cell phones which shows that the cell phone of the deceased, as opined by the Investigation Officer, had gone to the hands of the petitioner, who having purchased the same from some customer, sold it later on, to some other person. There may be some irregularities so far as the purchase and sale of the alleged cell phone is concerned but the fact remains that the petitioner has turned out to be an authorized dealer dealing in the sale and purchase of the old and new cell phones and he sold the SIMs of different telecommunication companies.
7. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has been arrested in this case as a mere suspect and despite having this case as a mere suspect and despite having undergone physical remand of 9 days no connecting evidence could be discovered by the Investigation Officer against him; the petitioner's case is open to further inquiry into his guilt because of the attending circumstance of the case, so, he may be admitted to post;arrest bail.
8. On the other hand learned Deputy Prosecutor-General assisted by the learned counsel for the complainant has opposed the grant of bail to the petitioner but at the same moment has shown his sheer dissatisfaction about the quality of investigation conducted in this case to-date.
9. After having heard the learned counsel for the parties and gone through the record of this case I for the time being find it a fit case for grant of post-arrest bail to the petitioner as on the basis of present data collected by the Investigation Officer, his case calls for further inquiry into his guilt as enunciated under section 497(2), Cr.P.C.
10. The circumstances hovering over the murder of Faisal Shahzad deceased require a high degree of professional expertise and only an Investigation Officer of the highest calibre, well equipped with the modern techniques of the investigation of such like cases, can resolve the controversy of the murder of the deceased of this case. The Investigation Officer presently seized with the matter, is directed to show more mental agility and capability, besides professionalism, to unearth the real culprits/killers of Faisal Shahzad deceased and 'associate all those including Mst. Balqees Akhtar with the investigation of this case without further loss of time. I cannot help making the observation that the most important person to be associated with the investigation of the case was Mst.
Balqees Akhtar who by now, should have been grilled properly by the police but due to in diligent and indifferent attitude of the police this object has not been achieved so far which reflects a sorry state of affairs. The CPO, Rawalpindi is directed to look into the progress and quality of the investigation conducted in this case so far and adopt corrective and efficacious measures to undo the riddle. The CPO is also required to directly supervise the investigation of this case and make sure that no stone is left unturned to trace the killers of Faisal Shahzad deceased. As observed above the prosecution at the moment is deficient of connecting evidence against the petitioner so the instant bail application is A allowed and he is admitted to bail provided he furnishes bail bonds in the sum of Rs.2,00,000 each with two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned trial court.
11. Before parting with this order it is clarified that the observation contained in the instant order are tentative and would have no bearing upon the merits of the trial of the instant case. It is also clarified that the prosecution shall be at liberty to ask for cancellation of the instant order if some believable connecting evidence is collected by the Investigation Officer against the petitioner, during the course of investigation..