KARACHI: The court of a judicial magistrate on Wednesday asked police to get a girl medically examined to determine her age following a complaint about her underage marriage. Areeba, said to be 13 years old, was married to her cousin, Imtiaz, in Clifton, the police informed the court.
The officials said they had taken the two cousins in custody on Tuesday under Section 54 (when police may arrest without warrant) of the criminal procedure code after a relative of the girl told the police that she was underage.
The police produced them before the judicial magistrate (south) on Wednesday and the court recorded her statement.
The girl deposed that the marriage was solemnised with her consent. The magistrate released the bridegroom on personal bonds and asked the police to conduct medical examination of the girl to ascertain her age.
The court also handed over the girl to her mother with the direction to stay with her parents till the arrival of medical report.
Teenager murder case
An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday turned down an application seeking transfer of a student’s murder case to a regular court.
Hamza Ahmed, a teenager, was allegedly killed by a guard of his schoolmate, Mohammad Shoaib, after they had an altercation over a girl in April last year in Defence Housing Authority.
The defence counsel challenged the jurisdiction of the court by moving an application under Section 23 (power to transfer cases to regular courts) of the Anti-terrorism Act 1997.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Saleem Raza Baloch of the ATC-III dismissed the application. The court order said that as per FIR and other documents, due to slapping by Hamza to Shoaib for sending messages to his female friend, the suspects in furtherance of their common intention committed murder by means of firearm, which created fear and insecurity.
Citing the rulings of the apex court about premature stage of the case when ocular, circumstantial and other evidence were not examined, the court observed that evidence had not been recorded and even charges were to be framed in the case. The court observed that the defence had also not denied the incident, but taken the plea that the gun went off automatically when the deceased tried to snatch it from the security guard.
According to the prosecution, Shoaib, his driver Mushtaq and security guard Mohammad Idrees were charge-sheeted under Section 212 (harbouring accused) of the Pakistan Penal Code while security guard, Amal Khan, who was an absconder, was named as the shooter.
A case was registered under Sections 302 (premeditated murder), 109 (abetment) 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 at the Darakhshan police station.
The suspects will be indicted on May 22.
Arshad Pappu murder case
An anti-terrorism court on Wednesday recorded the testimony of a prosecution witness in the Arshad Pappu murder case.
Shahjehan Baloch, Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker from Lyari, along with some police officers and others has been charged with allegedly killing Arshad Pappu, the alleged leader of an infamous Lyari gang, his brother Yasir Arafat and their confidant Juma Shera following their abduction in the DHA in March last year.
Sub-inspector Mohammad Latif deposed that the then Kalakot SHO Chand Khan Niazi, who was an absconder in the case, had left the police station by stating that he was going to the house of a relative in Defence on the night of the incident. The hearing was adjourned till May 26 when evidence of the remaining witnesses would be recorded.
Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment