KARACHI, Oct 14 A district and sessions court on Tuesday expressed annoyance over police failure in the submission of a final charge-sheet against two brothers accused of killing a famous fashion designer, Shaikh Amir Hassan.

On Sept 29, the district and sessions judge, south, Arjun Ram Talreja, had asked the case investigation officer to complete a final charge-sheet against the two brothers, Amir Hamza and Mohammad Saad Farooq, within the next three days and submit it to him at the next hearing.

When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, the investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Zafar Iqbal, did not turn up. The judge expressing annoyance issued a show-cause notice with a directive to the IO to appear in court and submit a fresh complete charge-sheet on Oct 29.

An interim charge-sheet against the accused was submitted in a court of judicial magistrate on Sept 17. The interim charge-sheet was converted into a final challan on the request of the police and referred to the district and sessions judge, south, for trial.

The bullet-riddled body of Mr Hassan was found on Aug 30 in his DHA Phase V residence, where he lived alone. A case (FIR 215/2008) was registered under Section 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Clifton police station on the complaint of the deceased's brother, Jalal Hassan. According to the interim charge-sheet, police arrested the suspects near Zamzama Park and recovered a car (AB-6022) and a gun from their custody on Sept 3.

According to the prosecution, Mr Hamza admitted to killing Mr Hassan, saying that the fashion designer had tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to sexually abuse him. The suspect is said to have committed the crime with the help of his brother.

Mr Hamza is quoted by the prosecution as having told the police that the deceased had promised to make him a top-notch model. The prosecution described the gun recovered from the custody of the suspects as a murder weapon. However, it has not yet submitted the relevant ballistic report in court. It is worth noting that no empty shell was found at the crime scene.

According to the call record of Mr Hassan's cellphone, he had received a last call from a SIM (subscriber identity module) registered in the name of Ajay Kumar, the charge-sheet added.

Mr Kumar, who is a neighbour of the suspects, said that he had sold the SIM to Mr Hamza about a year ago but the latter did not get it transferred to his name.

According to the prosecution, 18 witnesses, including the deceased's brother, Jalal Hussain, driver Mohammad Tariq, Sub-Inspector Tariq Khursheed, Ali Saleem, MLO Dr Abdul Jabbar of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, head constable Khalid and others, have been mentioned in the charge-sheet.

Gang-rape case

The additional district and session judge, east, Aftab Ahmed Boghio, on Tuesday summoned the victim to record her testimony in the Mazar-i-Quaid gang-rape case on the next hearing.

The 18-year-old woman was supposed to appear in court to record her statement on Tuesday. However, she did not appear when the case came up for hearing and the court adjourned the proceedings till Oct 25.

The case (FIR No 50/2008) was registered at the Brigade police station under Section 365-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (the section was inserted through the Protection of Women Act, 2006) on the complaint of her father.

According to the charge-sheet, the woman and her relatives from Lodhran were on a visit to the mausoleum when she was allegedly abducted during a power breakdown on March 15. She was taken to a room where she was forced to take a drugged drink and subjected to a gang-rape. The kidnappers kept her in their custody for a day and a half and then threw her at the gate of the mausoleum in the early hours of March 17. She was later spotted in an unconscious state by Rangers personnel, the charge-sheet said.

The assistant manager of the mausoleum's security staff was arrested on March 20. The charge-sheet said there was little doubt about his involvement in the crime because the victim not only identified him while recording her statement with the SHO, the accused was then in police custody, but also identified him in an identification parade conducted in the court of a civil judge and judicial magistrate, east.

The accountant and the personal assistant to the resident engineer of the Quaid-i-Azam Mausoleum Management Board were booked on April 24 following the receipt of a DNA report that confirmed their involvement in the case.