Court orders arrest of suspects in gang-rape case

MANSEHRA: Additional District and Sessions Judge Asghar Ali Shah has ordered the arrest of suspects in a gang rape case.

The court issued the orders after the victim girl in her statement alleged that the rapists and a female accused in the case had threatened her with dire consequences if she didn’t reach a compromise with them.

“The court cancelled the pre-arrest bail of suspects and ordered the police to arrest them,” Bilal Khan, the counsel of defendant told reporters on Friday. The prime suspect in the case, Ashiq Hussain, escaped from the court premises following the judge ordered cancelled of the pre-arrest bail of four accused. The police arrested Mohammad Aurangzeb, Mohammad Sabir and Mehreen Bibi who had deceived the victim girl. According to the FIR lodged with city police last month, accused Mehreen Bibi deceived her friend stated to be an employee of the education department and helped the accused in the crime who sexually assaulted her and fled the scene.

The counsels for the accused had offered a compromise with the victim girl in court, which was rejected by the judge. During her fresh statement, the victim girl alleged that the accused had threatened her with dire consequence. The district prosecutor presented the victim girl in court following which judge ordered the arrest of four accused but one of them managed to escape from court promises.

Bilal Khan said that he would challenge the cancellation of the accused bail in court. Also in the day, the Peshawar High Court’s Abbottabad Circuit Bench in a polling rigging case (NA-13) Mansehra, the two-member bench didn’t pronounce its ruling as counsels of MNA Salah Mohammad Khan didn’t show up in the court.