KARACHI:
A Karachi court on Saturday granted police physical remand of alleged drug lord Anmol alias Pinky until May 22 in one of the many cases against her.
Karachi police on Tuesday arrested a woman accused of operating one of the city’s most organized narcotics supply networks. The suspect, identified as Anmol alias Pinky, was arrested during a joint operation by the city police and a civic agency at an apartment in Garden area.
On Wednesday, Karachi police secured a three-day physical remand of the suspect, further escalating what authorities described as a rapidly expanding narcotics investigation with far-reaching links.
Multiple cases involving her were heard by several courts, including proceedings involving narcotics and murder. The magistrates of South, Central and Malir districts reserved orders on police applications seeking physical remand of Pinky in 15 cases, including one related to murder allegations.
In Municipal Court, proceedings included narcotics and murder cases against him.
Read: New drug case linked to ‘Pinky’ as investigation widens
The Central Court magistrate remanded Anmol in Special Investigation Unit (SIU) custody till May 22 in a narcotics case. The court also directed the investigation officer to submit a progress report in the next hearing.
During the trial in the South court, the police presented her before the magistrate on duty, where they alleged that she had been subjected to violence and falsely implicated in multiple cases.
“My name is Anmol. They held me for 20 days. They subjected me to a bag full of narcotics. Six men put me in a vehicle and took me away. After 15 days, they handed me over to the police. They force me to name people under pressure,” he told the court.
He further alleged that he was being ordered to identify the people whose names were being dictated to him.
The court observed that his statement was not being recorded properly and directed the investigation officer to file prior court orders. The magistrate also asked about the defendant’s state of health.
Anmol further claimed before the court that “between 20 and 25 cases” were being registered against her and alleged that she had been threatened that her family would be taken away if she did not “accept everything”.
She also claimed that a person from Banigala was mentioned and that she was pressured to give his name. According to her statement, she was initially taken in a van and given instructions on how to proceed, while the house from which her arrest was shown “was not mine.”
Read more: Karachi police arrest drug lord ‘Pinky’
The magistrate ordered that prior injunctions and a review be produced before him.
In a murder case registered at the Baghdadi police station, the investigating officer requested re-trial detention and informed the court that further investigations had been carried out.
The magistrate asked the officer what investigation had been carried out so far.
In response, the investigation officer claimed that the police had examined Anmol and registered 11 more cases against him. She further said that narcotics had been recovered from her identification and that she had previously been sent to prison in three cases. The agent added that she had been on the run for a long time.
The magistrate granted a two-day extension in the murder case registered at the Baghdadi police station. In the remaining 12 cases, the court ordered them to be sent to prison and sought progress reports from the investigation officer.
The magistrate also asked about the absconding accused Qamar, to which the investigation officer replied that he was wanted under Section 512.
During the hearing, some lawyers claimed to represent her, but Anmol told the court: “These are not my lawyers.”
The magistrate ordered him to speak only with his own lawyer and expressed his discontent with the situation.
Read also: ‘Stop us if you can’: Pinky, the drug dealer, challenges the system
On the other hand, in Malir court, Anmol was produced in a narcotics recovery case registered at Sachal police station. The investigating officer informed the court that narcotics had been recovered from a house as per his identification.
The accused denied the allegations and told the court: “I am involved in false cases. I was taken out of Lahore.”
The Malir court sent her to remand in the Sachal case and directed the investigation officer to file a challan within 14 days.
The prosecution subsequently decided to challenge the decision of the Malir court. Acting Sindh Attorney General Muntazir Mehdi said a criminal review petition would be filed.
