Sessions court: Man rearrested soon after being released

A minor scuffle erupted outside, creating a commotion, and Afzal and his uncle began running away.


Our Correspondent April 10, 2012

LAHORE:


A man was rearrested shortly after being released by the courts on Tuesday, as New Anarkali police registered a case against him the night before following a visit by a bailiff.


Additional District and Sessions Judge Munir Ahmed, hearing a habeus corpus plea, ordered Muhammad Afzal’s release after the bailiff reported that he had been detained by the police on Monday when there was no case registered against him. However, a lawyer representing a man who alleged that Afzal owed him money, told the court that New Anarkali police and Islampura police had now registered cases against Afzal under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Pakistan Penal Code. Hanif Bhatti filed a habeus corpus petition on Monday seeking his nephew Afzal’s recovery. He said that New Anarkali police had arrested him on April 6 from his home. He said that he had asked the police to release him since he was not wanted in any case, but they refused.

The judge deputed a bailiff on April 9 to recover Afzal. The bailiff reported that the moharrar of New Anarkali police station had told him that they had not detained Afzal and did not want him in any case, but he found Afzal sitting in the moharrar’s room.

The bailiff said that Mushtaq Ahmed, the investigation in-charge, told him that Afzal was not wanted in any case and had just arrived at the police station moments before the bailiff. However, Afzal told the bailiff he had been kept there in handcuffs overnight. They had been removed during the day.

Afzal was produced before the judge on April 10. After hearing from both sides, the judge asked him to wait outside while he considered his verdict. A minor scuffle erupted outside, creating a commotion, and Afzal and his uncle began running away. They were stopped at the judge’s gate. When Afzal was brought back to the court, the judge ordered his release. However, shortly after, he was arrested by New Anarkali police. The counsel for Hafiz Ijaz Butt, a shopkeeper, told the court that the police had registered an FIR against Afzal, a stationery supplier, on his client’s complaint.

He said that Afzal had taken Rs500,000 from Butt to supply stationery, but had not done so.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11th, 2012. 

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