Two suspects in Dr Maha death case granted pre-arrest bail

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday granted pre-arrest bail to two suspects in the Dr Maha Shah death case. Junaid Khan and Waqas Hasan had approached the court to obtain pre-arrest bail after the recalling of their bail from a sessions court.

The two men were booked by the police in the case pertaining to the death of Dr Maha, who had been practising at a private hospital in Clifton and had allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself at her house in the upmarket DHA neighbourhood on August 18 after being harassed and poisoned by the suspects.

According to the police, suspects Khan, Hasan and Dr Irfan Qureshi had subjected Dr Maha to mental and physical torture, threatened her and lured her into using drugs, which later led to her death.

Her family claims that Dr Maha had told them that she was being threatened with dire consequences, was also being humiliated and that she had told them that she would end her life.

The suspects had sought pre-arrest bail saying that they wanted to face the trial court’s proceedings but feared being arrested by the police. After the preliminary hearing of their applications, the SHC granted them pre-arrest bail and directed them to appear in the trial court.

Escape from court

On September 21, Khan and Hasan had escaped from the city courts after their application for interim bail was rejected. The two men fled in a rickshaw while the investigating officer could do nothing to stop them, following which he was suspended.

A senior officer had said that a case was being registered against the fleeing suspects because escaping from police custody was a crime. He said Khan was handcuffed while he escaped, adding that the IO had tried to catch them but they fled in a rickshaw.

Following the incident, Dr Maha’s father Syed Asif Ali Shah expressed fear that the suspects might leave the country. “If they haven’t done anything wrong, why did they escape? We’re satisfied with the police investigation, but fear that the suspects might escape abroad.”