• Non-bailable section of PPC added in FIR, court told
• Karachi police chief defends law enforcers’ actions after deadly accident

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Wednesday sent a woman SUV driver to prison on judicial remand in a case pertaining to the killing of a man and his daughter in a traffic accident near Karsaz.

Suspect Natasha Danish has been booked and arrested for recklessly driving her Toyota Land Cruiser and killing two persons and wounding three others in an accident on August 19.

The investigating officer of the case brought the suspect before Judicial Magistrate (East) Muhammad Raza Ansari after the psychiatry department of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre handed her to the police and stated that “no immediate psychiatric intervention” was needed at present.

The suspect was produced in court amid tight security. A large number of lawyers, one of the persons injured in the accident and complainant Imtiaz Arif were present in the courtroom.

During the proceedings, the IO sought seven-day extension of the suspect’s physical remand to check her previous criminal record.

However, state prosecutor Muhammad Younus informed the court that her police custody was no longer required for further investigation. He said the prosecution had already collected necessary evidence, including CCTV footage.

In the meantime, complainant’s counsel Uzair Ghouri requested the court to order inclusion of Section 322 (Punishment for qatl-bis-sabab) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) in the FIR, stating that it is a non-bailable section.

In response, he was informed that the IO had already included the said section in the FIR during the course of the investigation.

Earlier, the Bahadurabad police registered a case against the suspect under Sections 320 (punishment for qatl-i-khata by rash or negligent driving), 337-G (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent driving), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) and 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) of the PPC, which are all bailable offences.

After hearing all the sides, the court remanded the suspect in judicial custody.

‘No immediate risk of self-harm’

Earlier, the head of the JPMC’s psychiatry department, Dr Chooni Lal, discharged the suspect after she did not “exhibit any self-harm tendencies” during her stay at the hospital.

In a letter to the JPMC executive director, he explained her mental condition and stated that when the suspect was brought to the JPMC on Monday, she was not in a stable state of mind.

He added that upon examination, she was found to be “confused and behaving abnormally”. However, the suspect’s family did not provide any past history of her psychiatric illness, he said.

Dr Lal explained that to prevent self-harm, suicide, or any other untoward incident, she was admitted to the JPMC psychiatry department. She was kept under observation and, after repeated mental state examinations and assessments using relevant psychological scales, doctors found that there was no immediate risk of deliberate self-harm or suicide.

Police chief reject allegations of negligence

Also on Wednesday, Karachi police chief Javed Odho refuted allegations of giving ‘favour’ to the suspect or any negligence by investigators.

“We have not committed any negligence in the case,” he told a press conference.

He said the police took ‘prompt’ action after the accident and first saved the suspect’s life and then took due legal action. “We have fulfilled our duty and she has the right to engage a lawyer and defend herself.”

The city police chief said that the investigators were seeking legal opinion about a host of issues. He pointed out that the suspect was a dual nationality holder and they were seeking a legal opinion to what extent it would affect the case.

He said the investigators were also ‘verifying’ as to whether she was taking medicines for her mental health and, if it’s true, then why she was she allowed to drive.

PPP delegation meets victims’ family

A PPP delegation, led by Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, called on the family of the deceased Imran Arif, 60, and his daughter Amna, 22 and assured them that the government would stand by them and would ensure that no injustice was done.

He said that the Sindh chief minister had taken notice of the tragic incident.

The minister stated that he had gathered all the information regarding the incident and spoken to all relevant officers. He emphasised that the woman responsible for the accident should be punished as per the law.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2024