KARACHI: A sessions court on Friday acquitted a senior police officer and three others in a custodial death case. The court accepted a compromise agreement between the victim’s family and the four police officials — former SP Clifton Nayyar ul Haq, Darakhshan SHO Ali Raza Leghari, Sub-Inspector Sanaullah Soomro, head moharrir Faisal Leghari — and exonerated them from all charges. Moiz Naseem, who was arrested in an extortion case in April, was found dead in the lock-up of the Darakhshan police station and an autopsy had found multiple injuries caused by hard and blunt instrument all over the body. On Friday, after hearing the legal heirs of the deceased persons and completing legal formalities including the verification from the National Database and Registration Authority and concerned police authorities, Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Abdul Hafeez Lashari exonerated four police officials from the murder charges after accepting a compromise pact between the two parties as the offence is compoundable under Section 302 (murder). Court accepts compromise agreement under which victim’s heirs forgave accused cops ‘in the name of Almighty Allah’ The court allowed two applications filed by the two sons of the deceased — Zuhair Moiz, resident of the UK, and Junaid Moiz, through their counsel Barrister Zainul Abideen, under Section 345(2) (permission to compound the offence) and under Section 345(6) (compromise) of the criminal procedure code (CrPC). “Accused Ali Raza Leghari, Faisal Leghari, SIP Sanullah Soomro and SP Nayyar-ul-Hq are hereby acquitted under Section 345 (6) CrPC,” the court ruled. The court also noted that the suspects appeared in court on bail, their bail bond stands cancelled and their sureties were discharged. In their compromise application, they asked the court to acquit the suspects. The application said that the parties had amicably patched up the matter in accordance with law and the legal heirs of the deceased had forgiven the suspects “in the name of Almighty Allah”. It added that the legal heirs had filed their affidavits for compromise and they were not willing to depose against the suspects. Judicial Magistrate (South) Mazhar Ali had acquitted Junaid, son of the deceased Moiz, who was booked in an extortion case in April. After hearing arguments and recorded statement of complainant Abdul Basit who had submitted “no objection”, the court acquitted the suspect under Section 249-A, and cancelled his surety bonds. The suspect had moved an application under Section 249-A of the CrPC, seeking acquittal before the court, through his counsel Barrister Zain. In the application, the counsel informed the court that his client was falsely implicated in this case as he had neither visited nor contacted the complainant to demand any money and had not threatened him at all. He submitted that in April, the police had stopped his client and arrested him while he was with his friends near DHA phase 8 without having a warrant. He argued that it was a clear violation of Section 103 of the CrPC that the police did not arrange the independent witnesses while his client was apprehended. “There is nothing on record which shows that the applicant has/had any nexus with the offence charged or any transaction for that matter,” the counsel submitted. He argued that the sections mentioned in the FIR are arbitrary, adding that the applicant’s only role was being the son of the deceased person. “If he is implicated in this for only being son of the deceased co-accused then anyone having any nexus with the deceased may also be charged. Hence this case is a direct attack on the criminal justice and rule of law as a whole,” he added. He prayed before the court to acquit the applicant under Section 249-A of the CrPC, which empowers the court to acquit the accused at any stage. A case was registered at Darakhshan police station under Sections 384 (punishment for extortion) and 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion) of the Pakistan Penal Code.