Alleged murder by spiked coffee: DHA Karachi restaurant owner’s bail plea dismissed

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KARACHI: A sessions court on Thursday dismissed a pre-arrest bail application of a restaurant owner in a case pertaining to death of a man who had died after drinking coffee which had been allegedly spiked with “drugs”.

The restaurant owner had filed an application before Additional District and Sessions Judge Ihsan Ali Malik, seeking pre-arrest bail.

After hearing both parties, the court rejected the bail plea as the applicant “failed to make out ulterior motive or mala fide intent on the part of the complainant or police that justify the pre-arrest bail to be confirmed”.

“In the instant case the complainant has lost the life of his young son at the hands of accused persons, the accused is nominated in the FIR with a specific role along with two waiters, the medical evidence also corroborates the ocular account. Tentative assessment of material available on record prima facie connect[ed] the applicant with the commission of an offence which falls within the ambit of the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Cr.PC,” the court observed.

According to the counsel for the complainant, Jibran Nasir and Muhammad Daniyal, on July 31, the 31-year-old deceased — Zain Abbasi — met the restaurant owner at his restaurant in DHA phase 1 in connection with a business deal.

At the restaurant, the applicant had allegedly served him a coffee. However, after reaching home, the condition of Zain deteriorated and later he was taken to a private hospital, where he died.

After getting the post-mortem report, the complainant — the mother of the deceased — lodged a case against the owner of the restaurant and two waiters.

The post-mortem report revealed that caffeine, methamphetamine and cannabis were detected in the body of the deceased, the court noted, adding that “It can be deduced that caffeine, metabolites, methamphetamine and constituents of cannabis came into the body of deceased through the stomach.”

During the proceedings, the applicant’s counsel argued that as per CCTV footage, the deceased had left the restaurant along with his cousin in a healthy condition. However, what happened afterwards to his client was not known.

He claimed that the post-mortem report showed that “no poisonous substances were found”.

On the other hand, state prosecutor Shaheena Aziz argued that there was no dispute to the fact that the complainant’s son was served coffee at the restaurant of the suspect which was allegedly containing an overdose of drugs-related substances.

The prosecutor further contended that the suspect allegedly managed to remove some parts of the CCTV footage while the deceased was at the restaurant which showed his mala fide intention on his part.

A case was registered at the Darakhshan police station under Section 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2024