Former provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah Khan on Monday told the trial court that Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) neither quizzed him nor recorded his statement since he was arrested in the case. The court, however, extended judicial remand for Rana Sana and other suspects till August 09 and directed the prosecution to submit all documents of the case.
"I was taken to the ANF office right after my arrest and no interrogation was carried out but next day the judicial magistrate was informed that investigation had been completed," Rana further told the special court for Control of Narcotics Substance (CNS).
Rana told the court that neither he had been interrogated so far nor was confronted with any evidence or alleged video of his arrest. He said the prosecution prepared the challan on its own without taking his formal statement. He urged the court to take notice of the illegality and political victimization being committed in the case.
Earlier, Rana Sana along with other accused was brought to the court for first hearing of the trial since the ANF submitted challan against him. Judge Khalid Bashir heard the case as duty judge as the concerned court awaits its presiding judge since repatriation of District & Sessions Judge Masood Arshad to the Lahore High Court.
The federal law ministry had stopped the judge from working citing issues regarding his impartiality and integrity. Earlier, the duty judge asked the defence side if the suspect was in the courtroom. The judge called Rana to the rostrum after one of the defence counsels Azam Nazir Tarar answered in affirmative.
Responding to a court's query about his medical check-up, Rana said the jail doctors conducted his medical examination but never shared reports with him. He also complained about the poor condition of the jail hospital.
The defence counsel said Rana was a heart patient and required a complete check-up at Punjab Institute Cardiology or any other specialized hospital. He also sought permission for the suspect to have medicines and home-cooked food in jail.
The judge asked the counsel to file a written application in this regard and also sought a report from the jail superintendent about medical examination of the suspect.
Coming back to the main case, the defence counsel said the ANF filed an incomplete challan and leaked it to media for character assassination of the accused.
To a query about submission of challan during summer vacations in the district judiciary, a prosecutor told the court that the ANF was directed by a judicial magistrate to do so.
The prosecutor said the challan submitted in the court was complete; however, a chemical examination report of the recovered narcotics was still in waiting. Before the proceedings, PML-N President and Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif met Rana Sana in the courtroom.
Talking to media persons, Shahbaz Sharif said Rana Sana was his old comrade and he came to meet him in the court as jail authorities denied him visit despite repeated requests.
On his way back to jail, Rana Sana told the media and said the confession attributed to him in the challan was not true. He said the prosecution story was nothing but a joke. "Where is that video?" he questioned referring to a claim of State Minister for Interior Sheharyar Afridi that the ANF had filmed his arrest with the recovery of drug. He said the prosecution has failed to produce any independent witness against him.
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