The judicial magistrate sent Gill in judicial custody, declining investigators more time to gain access to his phone and laptop, and to put him through a polygraph test.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate Friday declined a police request for further investigative custody of Shehbaz Gill, the chief of staff of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, moving him to judicial custody.
A leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Gill was arrested on charges of incitement to mutiny in the armed forces over remarks televised over the satellite broadcaster ARY News.
Earlier, the police produced Shehbaz Gill before Duty Magistrate Umar Shabbir on Friday on completion of his 2-day physical remand, and requested the court for further physical remand of the accused. Strict security arrangements were made on this occasion.
A medical examination of Shehbaz Gill was also conducted on the orders of the court, the report of which was submitted by the police in the court.
Gill’s lawyer told the court that the Advocate General’s presence in the court was unnecessary, and was evidence of executive intervention in the case. On this occasion, the court directed all non-essential persons to leave the courtroom.
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhary and others spoke to Shahbaz Gill on his request to meet his legal team.
The investigating officer said that the audio CD of Shahbaz Gill’s program had been secured, and his voiceprint matched with the person who delivered the offending remarks.
He said one of Gill’s mobile phones was left in his car at the time of his arrest, while the other was with him.
Gill told the court that it was 4 o’clock when he was arrested and mobile phones were out of service [because of jamming as part of security measures for Ashura].
The accused told the court he that he had been subjected to torture, the marks of which were visible on his body. He claimed his physical check-up had not been done and his lawyers were not being allowed to meet him.
“I am kept awake all night”, Shahbaz Gill said, showing purported marks of torture on his back, and asked the court to set aside the fake medical report.
Shahbaz said that he could not even think about uttering an inappropriate word about the armed forces.
On this occasion, Advocate General Islamabad Jahangir Khan Jadoon told the court Gill was reading the remarks televised in his voice from a script, and he was not prepared to reveal the identity of the people who were behind the episode.
He said the investigators needed Gill to take a polygraph test to ascertain if he was telling the truth or lying. The accused was also yet to allow the police access to his cell phone of laptop, Jadoon said, and added Gill had told his driver to go in hiding in Khan’s Bani Gala residence.
Based on these arguments, he requested further physical remand of the accused, to which Shahbaz Gill’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhary objected and said that there was no need for physical remand for the polygraph test.
Later, while pronouncing a verdict, Judicial Magistrate Umar Shabbir rejected the request for an extension of physical remand and ordered the Shahbaz Gill to be send to jail in judicial custody.
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