During initial investigation, police discovered Gul was a relative of Lubna’s who was playing a prank on him by calling him. Lubna confessed she made similar calls to other people. STOCK IMAGE
PESHAWAR: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has directed the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa IGP to reinvestigate the case of a teenage girl who was allegedly involved in extortion.
Faqirabad police arrested 17-year-old Lubna, a resident of Mashokhel, in February after Zahir Gul, a local trader, complained he was getting threatening phone calls. According to a complaint filed on January 17, the caller allegedly belonged to a militant organisation and was demanding Rs1 million in extortion.
On February 24, Lubna appeared before Judicial Magistrate Johar Ilyas and was sent to Central Prison Peshawar on judicial remand. The 17-year-old was charged under Section 505 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 25 of the Telegraph Act 1885. Under these sections, she was charged for criminal intimidation and putting a person in fear of injury to commit extortion, respectively.
During initial investigation, police discovered Gul was a relative of Lubna’s who was playing a prank on him by calling him. Lubna confessed she made similar calls to other people.
She later requested the judicial magistrate to grant her bail. However, Lubna’s bail application was rejected because the nature of her crime fell within the ambit of terrorism. Subsequently, she filed a bail application before an ATC. The court accepted her application on the condition of a bail bond worth Rs100, 000.
Falsely implicated?
According to a four-page order delivered last week, SHO Faqirabad police produced an enquiry report based on Gul’s complaint which was recorded in the police station’s daily diary on December 10, 2014.
“After reading the enquiry report and the FIR, it becomes crystal clear that Lubna has not committed an offence,” stated the order. It added, “An affidavit was submitted by the complainant in which he said he had never mentioned the petitioner’s name to the police. According to the complainant, Lubna has been falsely implicated in the case by the SHO.”
According to the order, Gul had said that after his relative was released, he would approach senior police in this regard. Moreover, the complainant and his brother, Rashid Gul, also told the court Lubna is innocent.
“The statements given by both Zahir Gul and his brother do not connect Lubna with the alleged crime,” stated the order. “On the contrary, it shows the SHO has used her as a scapegoat to protect the actual culprits.”
The court said the local police have not thoroughly investigated the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2015.
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