Literature: Four blasphemy suspects declared proclaimed offenders

Court has directed the SHO to take stock of their assets.

LAHORE: Additional District and Sessions Judge Mian Shehzad Raza declared four blasphemy suspects proclaimed offenders on Friday for not appearing in court. The suspects had earlier been granted after-arrest bail by Lahore High Court.

The district and sessions court also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the suspects and ordered action under Section 514 (forfeiture of bond) of the CrPC against their guarantors.

The court earlier issued notices, bailable arrest warrants and non-bailable arrest warrants against the suspects for not turning up in court. On Friday, the court declared the suspects, members of the Ahmadia community, proclaimed offenders under Section 87 of the CrPC. Judge Raza directed the court ahalmad to initiate proceedings to seize the sureties submitted by the guarantors. The Islampura SHO and complainant were told to submit a report on suspects’ moveable assets by March 3.

The suspects were accused of publishing blasphemous literature at the Black Arrow Printing Press on January 7, 2013. The suspects applied for after-arrest bails in the sessions court but Additional District and Sessions Judge Shaukat Nadeem dismissed them. They approached the Lahore High Court which granted them bail. They told the court that they were innocent. They said the police had arrested them without a warrant after the complainant called the 15 hotline. Complainant’s counsel Mustafa Chaudhry said the suspects were planning to distribute the material in a market. Muhammad Tayyab filed a blasphemy complaint under Sections 295-B and 298-C of the PPC and 24-A of the PPO against four people working in binding and lamination department of the Black Arrow Printing Press.  He said the suspects had loaded a Toyota van with blasphemous literature.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2015.