Rape accused held after bail plea rejected
RAWALPINDI, Sept 16: The Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench on Wednesday denied pre-arrest bail to a man charged with raping a teenage girl in Jhelum a year back.
After Justice Asif Saeed Khosa turned down the bail plea of Chaudhry Banaras, the accused was arrested by the Mangla Cantonment police from outside the courtroom.
The court observed that the accused had been declared proclaimed offender after he fled from the trial court where his pre-arrest bail was cancelled and later did not appear in the high court where he had filed a petition.
According to the detail of the case, an FIR was registered by the Mangla police on September 13, 2008 on the complaint of the girl against her father Najeebur Rehman and his cousin Chaudhry Banaras.
The victim girl alleged that her father had divorced her mother 10 years back after which she started living with her mother.
She said about six months ago her father brought her back to his home where he and his cousin repeatedly raped her.
She said on September 11 last year she escaped from the house and narrated her ordeal to her mother who helped her in registering a criminal case against her father and his relative. Her father Najeeb has already been arrested and put behind bars.
Former minister’s plea
A division bench of the LHC comprising Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood adjourned the hearing of a writ petition filed by former federal minister Azam Khan Hoti challenging a reference sent to the Election Commission by the Awami National Party seeking his disqualification after he resigned from the ministry.
Making ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and the EC as respondent, Mr Hoti through his counsel Barrister Gohar Ali requested the court to declare the reference illegal.
The reference said since Mr Hoti was elected on the ticket of ANP; therefore, he lost his seat after leaving the party.
The petitioner, however, maintained that he had only resigned from the post of the minister after allegations of corruption were leveled against him and not resigned from the party.
Source: Dawn
Date:9/17/2009
” 
” 
” 
” 
