Court rejects bail pleas of suspects in Nashwa case

Bails won’t be granted as the case is still under investigation, the court says

KARACHI: The Karachi East additional district and sessions judge dismissed the bail pleas of Darul Sehat Hospital’s (DUSH) Deputy Administrator Ahmed Shehzad, nurse Sobia and security official Atif Javed on Thursday for allegedly being involved in the death of minor girl, Nashwa. In its remarks, the court maintained that since the suspects are nominated in the FIR and the case is under investigation, the suspects cannot be granted bail.

The court has, however, accepted technician Ahmed Waleed’s bail and has ordered him to deposit Rs100,000 as surety.

The condition of nine-month-old Nashwa deteriorated after she was administered a wrong dose of injection at DUSH. She was promptly shifted to Liaquat National Hospital (LNH), where she expired after battling for life for a week.

Sharae Faisal police registered an FIR under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) sections 324 and 337against Dr Sharjeel, Dr Atia and several others working at DUSH. The hospital’s deputy administrator Ahmed Shehzad, nurse Sobia, security official Atif Javed and technician Ahmed Waleed were arrested.

After keeping the suspects in custody, the court later handed them over to the jail authorities on judicial remand.

The counsel for the suspects had filed a bail plea in the court, but after formal proceedings, the court announced its decision on Thursday and rejected their bail pleas.

It is pertinent to mention here that the court earlier had rejected the pre-arrest bail pleas of Dr Sharjeel and Dr Atia.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2019.