Some 40 motorcyclists charged with performing wheelies have told the sessions court during their bail confirmation hearings that they were falsely accused by the police.
Ghalib Market police registered an FIR against 65 motorcyclists under Sections 279 and 427 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 99 of the Motor Vehicles Ordinance. All of them were released after they posted bail. City police have been trying to crack down on dangerous driving by motorcyclists for the last few months.
Over the last few days, some 40 motorcyclists have approached the court to confirm their bail, each of them claiming they have been falsely accused. Several have not appeared before the court yet, while the rest are to be tried by Additional District and Sessions Judge Hamid Hassan from August 6.
Muhammad Maroof, one of the men charged with doing wheelies, told the court that on the day of the arrests, he had been stopped at a picket at Ghalib Market where policemen had tried to get a bribe out of him.
When he refused, they took him in for performing a wheelie, he said, adding that he was not guilty.
Muhammad Fiaz’s son Muhammad Usman was also charged with doing a wheelie. He said that he had sent his son to buy some food on the day of his arrest. He said his son was innocent.
Despite their protestations of innocence, the judge warned the suspects not to attempt any stunts on the road again.
Sub-Inspector Muhammad Ashraf told The Express Tribune that the police would get arrest warrants for 22 suspects who were yet to confirm their bail if they did not not appear before the court on August 6.
He denied that the police had falsely accused the suspects. “What’s new? Every criminal who gets caught blames someone else,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2011.
1710998259-0/pti-(1)1710998259-0-270x192.webp)
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ