KARACHI, Nov 24: A judicial magistrate (east) on Monday remanded two lawyers in jail custody till Dec 6 for their alleged involvement in the gang-rape of an 18-year-old girl.
The police arrested one of the suspects on Nov 22 at his flat in the limits of Ferozabad police station and later also arrested his associate on information obtained by the suspect in custody.
According to the prosecution, the victim, hailing from Gujranwala, along with her sister had come to Karachi on Nov 17 to embrace Islam since their parents and relatives were against it.
The girls, who then belonged to the Christian faith, travelled with a Karachi-based family, and on the following day the family head, Mohammad Rafique, took both the girls to a lawyer for legal formalities regarding the conversion and to hand them over to a shelter home, it said.
However, the lawyers along with his colleague took the girls to his flat in Tariq Road area and allegedly raped the 18-year-old girl. The suspects also allegedly attempted to sexually assault her younger sister, but she resisted and got an opportunity to call Rafique on her cellphone, the prosecution added.
The court also recorded the statement of the victim’s sister under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
She said that they came to Karachi from Gujranwala to embrace Islam and the suspects took them to their flat saying that they would be handed over to a shelter home the following day. She said the suspects had raped her sister and also attempted to sexually assault her. However she resisted and somehow got an opportunity to call Rafique, who rang up the police.
A case (FIR No.1213/08) was registered against the accused under Sections 342, 365-B and 376-II/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at Ferozabad police station.
The police said that it had also recovered wine from the scene of crime and registered a case (FIR No.1214/08) under Section 4 of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order 1979. The suspects were also remanded in jail custody in this case till Dec 6.
Meanwhile, on the court’s order the girls were handed over to their father, who had reached the city courts along with other family and community members. Earlier, the victim girls’ relatives, including their father and uncles, had a scuffle with a group of lawyers before they chanted slogans against what had happened with the girls.
Later, the victims’ father lodged an FIR (114/2008) against a group of 20 to 25 lawyers under Sections 147, 148, 337 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code with the city court police station.
An advocate, Naseebullah, lodged a counter FIR (115/2008) against the victims’ father and 20 to 25 others under Sections 147, 149, 506/B, 337 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code. No arrest was made in both cases.
Three sent to jail
A judicial magistrate (east) on Monday remanded three suspects in jail custody till Dec 3 for allegedly printing and selling fake shares.
The FIA received a complaint from the Karachi Stock Exchange regarding the selling of fake shares and arrested a suspect, Naiz Rand, on Nov 18 after an initial inquiry and later on information provided by Naiz, the FIA personnel also arrested the other suspects, Shahzad and Mohammad Rehan, stated to be a fake shares designer and owner of a printing press, respectively.
According to the prosecution, fake shares worth billion of rupees, stamps and documents were recovered from the suspects’ possession.
A case (FIR No.78/08) was registered under Section 420, 468, 471, 473 and 109/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code at the FIA crime circle branch, Karachi.
Girl in police custody
A judicial magistrate (Malir) remanded a teenage girl in police custody till Nov 25 on charges of smuggling heroin.
Customs officials took 18-year-old Nalia Younus in custody at Karachi airport on Nov 20 on suspicion of smuggling drugs.
Later, 550 grams of heroin was allegedly recovered by the medical staff from the woman’s abdomen at the Jinnah hospital, the prosecution said.
The customs police registered a case (FIR 80/08) against the suspect under Section 6/9-C of Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997.
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