Alleged harasser gets bail

Court grants bail to Senate official against surety of Rs0.1 million

ISLAMABAD:

A local court on Friday granted bail to an employee of the Senate secretariat in an alleged harassment case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Ataa Rabbani granted bail to Rana Azhar Siddique, a grade-18 officer of the Senate Secretariat, in the alleged harassment case against a surety bond of Rs0.1 million.

The Senate employee was accused of harassing a woman outside an ATM.

The accused appeared in the court after the expiry of his pre-arrest bail but the police could not produce the record.

The counsel for the accused said that they have also handed over the mobile phone to the police for forensic test. The counsel said that the complainant woman was a social activist and she had levelled the allegations of harassment for cheap publicity.

When the court asked what was the name of the woman, the lawyer said that her name is Zobia Khurshid Raja.

He said that when his client walked to the ATM, a woman was already in the booth. Later, two women also showed up and his client offered them to use the ATM first.

After the woman made hue and cry, his client fled the scene fearing a public reaction. The counsel said that the woman uploaded the video on all three social media platforms and after the video went viral, his client was suspended.

The counsel said that the provisions under which the accused had been booked were bailable. After completion of the arguments, the court granted bail to the accused.

In the petition filed by the accused, it was stated that the petitioner was serving in the Senate secretariat as deputy director in grade-18.

The accused had taken the plea that he had nothing to do with the incident and he was being trapped. He said that the case needed further inquiry.

The woman had uploaded video on social media with a man making a video outside the ATM where she was withdrawing cash.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2022.