KARACHI: A local court on Monday acquitted four accused arrested for alleged hoarding of surgical masks amid novel coronavirus outbreak. The police produced four accused in the court of Judicial Magistrate South over alleged hoarding of the masks and sought their physical remand. The judicial magistrate rejected the request of police for remand and ordered release of accused under section 63 of the criminal procedure code.
“The police failed to follow the law in registration of the case,” the court said. The counsel of the accused claimed in the court that the arrested youth were distributing free surgical masks as social responsibility.An artificial shortage of the surgical masks witnessed after first two cases of novel coronavirus reported in Pakistan causing sale of the masks on exorbitant rates in the market. An artificial shortage of surgical masks created by the vested interests amid the fear of coronavirus outbreak. The profiteers became active to make a good fortune out of the opportunity. The authorities launched a crackdown against the hoarders and law enforcement agencies conducted raids to recover thousands of mask hoarded for sale in the black market. The law enforcement agencies in a single raid in Karachi recovered 74,000 surgical masks and 200 infusion water drips from a place in the city. – Agencies
