Rape suspect’s bail plea rejected

ISLAMABAD: A judicial magistrate has dismissed the bail application of a man who had been arrested for allegedly raping a child. NE* had been arrested by the Shalimar police on August 8 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy*. The victim, who studied at a seminary, was walking home when he was grabbed by the 22-year-old suspect near the Sector F-11 Markaz and sexually assaulted. After the assault, the suspect fled. The police subsequently registered a case against an unidentified man. However, using footage from the closed circuit television cameras of the Safe City project, police managed to identify the culprit, tracked him down and arrested him. Later he filed a post-arrest bail application with Judicial Magistrate Waqas Ahmed Raja. The bail, however, was dismissed on September 27. In his order, the judge observed that the medico-legal report had substantiated the victim’s statement. “Sufficient incriminatory material is available on record against the petitioner [the suspected rapist] to connect him with the commission of the alleged offence,” the court’s order read.

(*NAME WITHHELD TO PROTECT IDENTITY)

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2017.