Courts issues warrants for witnesses’ failure to appear in TikToker murder case

KARACHI: Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Faraz Ahmed Chandio has issued arrest warrants for the prosecution witnesses that failed to appear before the court to record their statements in the murder trial of a TikToker in Karachi.

The victims, Muskan Sheikh, Amir Khan, Rehan Shah and Saddam Hussain, were killed near Anklesaria Hospital in the early hours of February 1, 2021.

Both the detained accused Abdul Rehman Khan, alias shooter, and Sawera were produced from the prison. However, the investigating officer (IO) failed to produce any witnesses.

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Issuing bailable warrants for their arrest, the judge directed the IO to arrest and produce the witnesses before the court on December 4 for recording their statements. The IO was also told to produce case property in the court on the next date.

Last month, the court had indicted Khan and Sawera for committing premeditated murder, causing disappearance of the evidence, concealing the offence, abetment and common intention.

The IO had listed around 28 witnesses in the case.

In the investigation report, the IO had stated that the victim Muskan Sheikh was in contact with Khan and used to make TikTok videos with him. Khan is a habitual criminal, who had contacts with drugs peddlers, it added.

Later, Muskan developed contacts with Amir Khan and often had quarrels with Abdul Rehman, but the matter was finally settled through a jirga, the report stated.

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The investigation report mentioned that on the night of the incident Abdul Rehman took Sawera to the Al-Sajjad Restaurant located at Sea View in the DHA for making TikTok videos which they uploaded online. Sawera and Amir Khan also made TikTok videos at the residence of Saddam Hussain and uploaded them on the social media website, it added.

Later on, Muskan along with Amir Khan, Saddam Hussain and Rehan Shah went to the Sawera’s house, where they reportedly quarrelled with each other. Therefore, Sawera phoned Abdul Rehman, who called Muskan on her cell phone and abused her for visiting Sawera’s house.

The investigation report said a CCTV video footage was recovered, showing a man on a motorcycle waiting at the crime scene at around 5:00 am where the victims are seen arriving in a car, getting off and talking with the bike rider Rehman.

The footage also showed the car riders indulging in a fistfight with Abdul Rehman, who suddenly pulled out a pistol and opened fire on him, who fell on the ground, while the attacker was seen fleeing on his motorcycle towards Garden Road, the report said.

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The report concluded that because of the location of the mobile phone of Abdul Rehman and other circumstantial evidence he was found involved in the murder of the four friends.

A case has been registered under Sections 302, 201, 202, 112 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at the Nabi Bux police station.