Sexual harassment: IHC orders police to lodge FIR

Complainant alleges she was nearly raped.

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi on Friday ordered the police to lodge a case against the principal of the Pakistan Broadcasting Academy (PBA) for harassing a female staffer.

The complainant, Rizwana Khan, a contractual employee, who works as a music producer at Radio Pakistan, had requested the court to order the police to register an FIR against PBA Principal Sajid Durrani.

Khan said that Durrani was harassing her and wanted to have an affair with her. She alleged that he also sent her objectionable messages through mail and SMS. “He has even threatened to terminate my services by using his influence,” she added.

The complainant alleged that in May, Durrani entered her hostel room and tried to rape her. When she went to the police, they refused to register an FIR against him.

The petitioner said that she had also filed an application in the trial court under section 22-A against the police for not registering the FIR against her harasser. Subsequently, the trial court asked the police to lodge a case against Durrani, but they were delaying the matter, which compelled her to approach the IHC.



During the course of hearing, Industrial Area SHO Abdur Rauf Kayani assured the court that an FIR would be registered against Durrani. He claimed that he had just taken charge of the police station and the case had not yet come to his notice.

Later, Kayani told The Express Tribune that no evidence was found against Durrani during investigation. “How can the police register an FIR against a suspect when there is no solid evidence?’’ he asked. He, however, said that the court order would be complied with and an FIR would be lodged against the alleged harasser.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2013.