Bail petition: Man accused of raping, blackmailing widow

Complainant says neighbour also took Rs1 million from her.

LAHORE:

A court will hear on August 20 a bail application filed by a man accused of blackmailing and raping his neighbour, a widow.

Bahadar Ali faces various charges under Sections 376 (rape), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 465 (punishment for forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security) and 471 (using a forged document) of the Pakistan Penal Code in a case registered at Shahdra police station.

The complainant had submitted that Ali, her neighbour, had approached her with an investment opportunity shortly after her husband had died in a car accident.

She said that he claimed to have a public transport business and told her that if she invested Rs1 million, he would purchase a van for her which would get her a steady income.

She said that he had asked for copies of her ID card and her nikah nama to get the paperwork for the van purchase started.

She alleged that Ali had used the nikah nama copy to prepare a forged nikah nama purportedly showing her as his wife. He had blackmailed her by threatening to show the nikah nama to other people, she said. He had forced her to pay the Rs1 million, and had also raped her, she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2013.