PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Tuesday directed the Dera Ismail Khan police to step up efforts to arrest the prime suspect in the teenage girl stripping case and produce progress report.

Justice Roohul Amin Chamkani and Justice Ikramullah Khan was informed by DI Khan deputy inspector general of police Kareem Khan that the police had taken several steps for apprehending the prime suspect, Sajawal, and attached 138 kanals of his land to the state.

The bench adjourned the hearing into the case until Apr 26 asking the DIG to submit their progress report.

On Nov 22, a high court bench headed by the chief justice had disposed of a petition filed by the alleged victim of stripping, with the direction to the IGP to submit progress report of the investigation to the PHC’s Human Rights Cell director for the perusal of the chief justice.

Asks DI Khan police for update in this respect on April 26

In the petition, the girl had made several prayers to the court seeking protection, recovery of film of the incident allegedly made by a local resident, and the arrest of prime suspect Sajawal.

DIG Kareem Khan said on the police’s request, the interior ministry had placed the name of Sajawal on the Exit Control List and got his computerised national identity card blocked.

He said the police had also registered five FIRs against some relatives of Sajawal, who were suspected of facilitating the main suspect’s fleeing.

The bench asked if the police had checked the airports about the fleeing of the suspect abroad.

The DIG said the suspect had not prepared passport and therefore, he could not leave the country through legal channels.

About the allegations levelled by the victim and her family that the incident was recorded on cellphone by local resident Rehmatullah, he said that so far that allegations could not be proved during investigation.

The girl had claimed that around two years ago, the prime suspect had blamed her brother for handing over a cellphone to a female member of their family and despite his denial on oath, the panchayat (jirga)had ordered her brother to pay a fine of Rs300,000 to them.

She added that despite the decision of the panchayat, the accused led by Sajawal had paraded her naked in the village.

REPLY SOUGHT: A bench comprising Justice Qaiser Rasheed and Justice Syed Afsar Shah sought comments from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly speaker and other respondents in a contempt petition filed by MPA-elect Baldev Kumar claiming that he had not been administered the oath by the speaker in accordance with an earlier court order.

Muhib Jan Salarzai, lawyer for the petitioner, said the speaker had been using delaying tactics in administering the oath to his client.

Qazi Mohammad Anwar, lawyer for the speaker, and his client had issued production order for Kumar but the latter could not take the oath on Feb 27 due to protest by MPAs.

Kumar was arrested on charges of killing the then adviser to the chief minister, Sardar Soran Singh, as his name was at serial No 2 on the priority list of candidates given by PTI for the seats reserved for minorities.

The bench fixed the next hearing for Apr 6 and ordered the respondents, including the speaker and some other MPAs, to file their replies in the case.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2018