By Faisal Kamal Pasha
Justice Asad Munir of Lahore High Court (LHC), Rawalpindi Bench, ordered an inquiry into an alleged gang rape when a gypsy woman with her handicapped father-in-law approached the court here on Monday.
The gypsy woman, Najma, wanted registration of FIR against the four accused who allegedly raped her trespassing her premises in Balkasar Chakwal. Not conversant with the complicated judicial system, both Najma and her father-in-law came straight to the court of Justice Asad Munir for redressal of their grievances.
The court after examining the application of Najma directed an assistant advocate general to probe into the matter.While talking to ‘The News’ outside the courtroom Najma said that on the night of September 10, 2009 she was in her hut along with her father-in-law, who is also her paternal uncle, when four persons, Moman, Jamshed, Falak and Hashim, entered her hut. She alleged two of them put a gun on the temple of her father-in-law and raped her one by one.
She also alleged that these four persons also took away some cash from her hut along with a monkey that was the source of income for the family.In one another case the same bench directed a federal counsel to seek reply from the respondents in the case of Advocate Nadeem Shah, who has been in the custody of army.
In the last hearing the court had issued notices to Judge Advocate General GHQ and deputy attorney general asking them to submit their reply till October 12 explaining under what authority a civilian lawyer was being kept in the custody by army.
The court was hearing the petition filed by the wife of Advocate Nadeem Shah in the court about the present status of Nadeem and the legality of his detention.
Making secretary Ministry of Defence and judge advocate general GHQ as respondents the petitioner through her lawyer Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui has maintained in the court that her husband went missing on April 13 and attorney general of Pakistan submitted before the Supreme Court after the SC took up her application, that Nadeem was in the custody of army and was being interrogated along with a serving lieutenant colonel under secret act. The petitioner said the statement was made before the SC in May and since then no progress has been made by the concerned authorities and they had also not been informed about any proceedings against Nadeem.She prayed to the court to get her husband released from the illegal custody and if there was any charge against him he should be tried accordingly.