Civil judge Lower Dir arrested on rape charges

PESHAWAR: The police on Friday arrested a senior civil judge for allegedly raping a woman at his official residence in Lower Dir district. According to the roznamcha (daily diary by police) lodged at the Balambat Police Station on Thursday, Senior Civil Judge Muhammad Jamshed Kundi was arrested on the complaint of a woman from Nishtarabad locality in Peshawar, namely Ms Dua, daughter of Akhtar Hussain, who alleged that the civil judge raped her by force at his official bungalow.

The woman in her complaint alleged that the civil judge had taken gold ornaments worth Rs1.5 million by promising to provide a job to her sister some three months ago. She alleged that Muhammad Jamshed Kundi contacted her on November 25 saying that he was unable to provide the job and asking her to accompany him to Balambat so that the gold ornament could be returned to her.

The woman said she travelled with the judge to Timergara from Peshawar in his official car. She alleged that on reaching the bungalow, the judge allegedly expressed his desire to have sex with her and rapped her by force when she refused.

The police report, signed by Station House Officer Fazal Ghafoor Khan, said the medical report of the victim woman had confirmed the crime after which the senior civil judge was arrested and produced in a court, which remanded him in the police custody.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) suspended the judge. A PHC press release said ‘Mr Jamshed Kundi, Senior Civil Judge, Lower Dir, on being charged in case FIR No 187, registered with Balambat Police Station, has been suspended with immediate effect”. It reiterated that the law shall take its legal course, be it anybody accused of an offence, adding the PHC would continue to strive to uphold the rule of law.