Three in couple case still at large

Police submit charge-sheet in harassment case to court

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad police have apprised a local court in Islamabad that three suspects allegedly involved in harassing, torturing and stripping a boy and a girl in a flat in Sector E-11/2 were still at large.

According to the police charge-sheet submitted to the court, the police have remained unable to arrest three absconding suspects — Ali Abrar, Zehrosh Amir Siddiqui, and Faheemullah — who were part of a ring involving Usman Mirza.

The charge sheet said that Usman Mirza was the prime offender in the case who recorded inappropriate videos of the couple, stripped them naked, assaulted them, and kept them hostage for hours.

The prime suspects hurled threats at the couple and forced them to have sex in front of them.

The charge sheet said that the suspects touched private parts of the girl and forced the couple to dance naked.

The suspects filmed videos of the victims, blackmailed them and received extortion from them as well, the charge sheet said.

Read Umar gets bail in couple assault case

The challan said that police have recovered the mobile phone used for making the objectionable video and the pistol used by the prime suspect to threaten the victims.

According to the charge-sheet, the co-suspect, Umar Bilal, told the investigators that he extorted Rs1.125 million from the couple at the behest of Usman Mirza and of the extorted money, gave Rs0.6 to Usman Mirza.

The statements of the victims recorded before the magistrate have also been made part of the challan.

The girl said that Usman Mirza forced her to have intercourse with the boy, threatening to rape her if she refused to.

She said that the suspects assaulted the boy, took off his pants and forced them to get physical with each other.

The charge sheet has included the statement of Usman Mirza, who said he filmed the couple’s video on November 18, 2020.

The prime suspect could not produce the licence of the pistol recovered by the police from him. A separate case was registered against the suspect for failing to produce the licence of the pistol.

The FIR of the case was registered in Golra police station on July 6 after the video went viral, the police charge-sheet said.

Usman Mirza, Mohib Bangash, Adaris Qayyum Butt, Farhan Shaheen and Attaur Rehman are in Adiala jail while Omar Bilal Marwat and Rehan were on bail, the charge-sheet said.

The suspects will be indicted on September 28 in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani.

The incident had come to light with a video showing a group of men, led by Usman Mirza — the key suspect — holding a couple at gunpoint, forcing them to strip and then beating them up. Moreover, the suspects also abused the couple verbally and physically by doing vulgar acts.

The FIR of the case was registered on July 6 after which some of the suspects were traced and arrested. The FIR said the incident took place within Golra police station limits at an apartment building in sector E-11/2.

The case was registered under section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 354A (assault or use of criminal force to woman and stripping her of her clothes), 506 (ii) (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the PPC.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2021.