Blind man sent to jail on kidnapping charge

GUJRANWALA:

Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Asif on Friday sent a blind man to Central Jail after he failed to prove his innocence in a kidnapping case filed by an abducted woman’s father. The woman had managed to return home a few days ago. The complainant said that his daughter Urooj was kidnapped by Muhammad Kashif three months ago. He said Kashif took her to Rahim Yar Khan, where he forcibly married her.

He said Urooj managed to flee and return home three days ago. He said he had filed a complaint at the Civil Lines police station on Wednesday.

Police said the magistrate had summoned Kashif, Urooj and her family on Friday. Urooj told the court that she had been kidnapped by Kashif.

Kashif, a resident of Rahim Yar Khan, said that he had been talking to Urooj on a phone for a year. He said he had first met her through a friend while visiting Gujranwala. He said shortly afterwards she had sought his cell phone number and had been in a relationship with him since then.  He said she first showed interest in marrying him. In Oct 2012, he said, she left her home and came to his house.

They married a few days later. He said a few days ago, she said that she wanted to visit her family to try to persuade them to bless their marriage. Next, he said, he learnt from the police that her father had filed a complaint against him and that he had been summoned by a magistrate.

In his defence, Kashif said given his disability there was no way he could kidnap anybody. He said he needed help even with walking.

The court directed the police to investigate the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2^nd, 2013.