Sessions court also dismisses interim bail of Defense-C SHO after he skips hearing in magistrate intimidation case
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday sought a report from the Defense Police Station House Officer-C (SHO) on a petition alleging illegal detention of a suspect described by the prosecution as the “chief” of a group accused of the alleged kidnapping and rape of two foreign women.
On July 2, police rescued the two women within hours of receiving an emergency report, arrested four suspects and launched an investigation into allegations of kidnapping, ransom demands and sexual assault. Three more suspects were subsequently arrested, bringing the total number of defendants brought before the court to seven.
Justice Abher Gul adjourned the hearing till July 20 after taking a habeas corpus petition filed by Mumtaz Bibi, the mother of suspect Waheed Tahir.
Representing the petitioner, lawyer Rana Intizar Hussain argued that the police had taken Waheed Tahir from his house on July 3 but had not produced him before any court. He maintained that the law requires that an arrested person appear before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest.
The lawyer further informed the court that he had received information suggesting that Waheed Tahir was currently admitted to the Services Hospital.
During the hearing, Justice Gul asked the petitioner’s counsel what relief was sought. The lawyer argued that the suspect had been held in illegal custody in violation of legal requirements and asked the court to order an end to his illegal detention and order his release.
Also read: Five-day preventive detention is extended for four suspects in the case of foreign women
The petition named the Punjab inspector general of police, jail superintendent and other officials as respondents. He maintained that although Tahir had been detained in connection with the case, he had not been produced before a competent court despite the mandatory legal period having expired.
The court directed the SHO of Defense-C police station to submit a report before the next hearing.
The prosecution alleged that Tahir acted as the “boss” of the group involved in the crimes. However, the present petition concerns only the legality of his detention and the alleged failure to bring him before a court within the period provided by law.
So far, the court has granted police remand to all seven suspects.
On July 3, a judicial magistrate granted five-day remand to the first four suspects (Raza Dar, Hassan Raza, Sajid Ali and Sikandar Khan), which was extended by another five days on July 8. On Saturday, the court also granted five-day remand to the remaining three suspects – Rizwan, Nasir and Nawaz.
One of the suspects is related to an influential political figure. However, Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Faisal Kamran said on Sunday that the suspect, who is allegedly linked to a senior government minister, would not receive preferential treatment and would be investigated like any other accused.
SHO’s provisional bail is dismissed
In a related development, a Lahore sessions court on Monday dismissed the interim bail application of Defense-C SHO Faryad Ali after he failed to appear in a case in which he was alleged to have threatened a judicial magistrate conducting proceedings related to the alleged kidnapping and rape of the two foreign women.
Additional Sessions Judge Abdul Quddus dismissed the interim bail plea for non-process after the SHO failed to attend the hearing. Earlier, the court had granted Ali interim bail before arrest and sought a response from the Mustafaabad police station.
According to the FIR, the SHO visited the judicial magistrate’s residence and allegedly threatened him during the proceedings related to the high-profile case. The FIR further alleged that he entered the magistrate’s residence at night, violating the sanctity of the home.
A separate FIR was later registered at Mustafaabad police station for alleged intimidation of the judicial magistrate.
the case
The two foreign women arrived in Islamabad on June 26 before traveling to Lahore on June 29. He said that around midnight on July 1, the Safe City Authority received information from a man identified as Carlos, who reported that his daughter had been kidnapped in Pakistan and that he had received a ransom demand.
“Subsequently, the police launched an investigation using relevant phone numbers, vehicle registration details, travel records and safe city camera footage, while conducting raids in Shahdara, Defence, Sargodha and other areas. Recovery of the women was our top priority,” he said.
Kamran said investigators traced a suspect’s family tree and carried out raids at several locations. “During one such raid, residents of a house informed the police that the suspect’s family had been living there as tenants and were believed to have links to the deputy prime minister. The suspect was later identified as Mohammad Raza Dar,” he added.
He said police verified the information with the suspect’s family, obtained his phone number and began tracking his location. “The family would surely have asked the suspect to turn himself in,” he said.
Read more: 4 arrested for sexual assault on foreign women
The DIG said senior police and government officials had been informed after investigators uncovered the suspect’s alleged links to a senior political figure. “We received strict instructions from the government that he should not be treated differently from any other criminal,” he said.
He added that investigators were also examining the possibility that a gang, rather than a single individual, was involved in the incident.
According to the DIG, the suspect was taking the two women to the airport when an altercation broke out inside the vehicle near Bhatta Chowk.
“During the confrontation, the vehicle collided with an object, after which the women jumped out of the vehicle and sought shelter in a nearby filtration plant, from where the police recovered them safe and sound,” he added.
Kamran said orders from judicial magistrates were needed before medical examination of the women could be carried out.
Read also: Locals catch foreigners trying to kidnap nomadic girls.
“As the magistrate was not on duty and the women were scheduled to leave Pakistan the next morning, a police station officer was sent to the magistrate’s residence late at night to obtain necessary orders. I apologize for this,” he said.
The DIG said the police contacted the Spanish and Dutch embassies after recovering the women. The Spanish embassy informed investigators that one of the women was of Venezuelan nationality.
After consultation with the embassies, the women agreed to undergo medical examinations and subsequently agreed to have their statements recorded before a magistrate under article 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Kamran said the embassies had also requested that the women be repatriated as soon as possible, adding that the police were still investigating all aspects of the case.
