Victim denies reconciliation in torture-abuse case

CHAK JHUMRA:

Khadija Ghafoor, the student who had been allegedly tortured by an industrialist on refusing to marry him, released a video message on Friday denying the rumours that she had reconciled with the accused by taking money from him.

In her message, Khadija Ghafoor vowed that she would pursue her case “with the support of the people”.

A video of Khadija Ghafoor, who is a resident of University Town, had gone viral on social media on Thursday in which she was seen apologizing to industrialist Sheikh Danish.

Thursday’s video made many people assume that she had reconciled with the businessman against a huge sum of money.

However, Khadija recorded a fresh video and uploaded it on social media, telling the viewers that the video about reconciliation with Sheikh Danish “was an old one” which “Maham forced me to record” and also posted it on her Facebook account.

She said she had neither reconciled with the accused nor did she take any money in the case concerned.

“I need your support to take my case to its logical conclusion,” she said.

On Thursday a large number of lawyers had attacked the main suspect when he was brought by the police for presentation before a court for remand.

The suspect, Sheikh Danish, was produced in the court and the police requested his 14-day remand.

However, the court remanded him in police custody for five days.

The suspect was manhandled by a large number of lawyers when he was brought to the court.

The police took him to the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Shafqat Ali and called more personnel. On the orders of the police officers, teams of the Elite Force surrounded the court. Later, Civil Judge Ali Raza heard the case in the same room.

The suspect’s lawyer argued that the complainant woman was 26 years old, while Danish’s daughter was aged 14, showing that they could not be class fellows.

The lawyer asked how the suspect could have committed rape in front of his daughter. He said that apart from the digital video recorder, the police had confiscated mobile phones, cars and laptops, and there was no reason to seek the remand. The lawyer alleged that it was a case of blackmailing. The plaintiff’s lawyer said a person who could severely humiliate a girl in front of his wife and daughter could not be innocent.

Lawyers present in the court also raised slogans against the suspect.

The plaintiff’s lawyer denied the allegation of blackmailing.

He said the woman’s brothers were living in Australia and England and they could not indulge in such an act. The lawyer supported the request for physical remand of the suspect, telling the court that Sections 365B and 452 had been added by the police in the case filed against him.

The lawyer of the defendant said the provisions had been applied to his client without informing him.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2022.