SAHIWAL, Jan 20: An additional district and sessions judge on Tuesday confirmed pre-arrest bail of Muhammad Aslam Tahir, who was alleged to have been running a brothel by the 'rapists' of his daughter. The court had granted pre-arrest bail to the accused on Jan 16.

Reports said Aslam got registered a case against DHQ hospital ward servant Rafi and his brothers - Muhammad Nadeem and Muhammad Shafiq - for kidnap and rape of his daughter.

However, the police exonerated the three brothers from the charges after which one of their supporters, Haji Noor Muhammad, got the complainant booked on Jan 14 for allegedly running a brothel.

Judge Asif Majid Awan, however, granted pre-arrest bail to the girl's father, which was confirmed. When contacted, Aslam Tahir told this correspondent that her daughter had left the Mission High School where she was studying in 7th class. He said the school's headmistress had asked him to marry the victim with the kidnapper, otherwise she would strike off the names of his two other daughters studying in 4th class.

Meanwhile, the Punjab chief minister has sought a report from the district police office on the charge that ASI Ali Sher took Rs15,000 from Aslam for processing the challans of the suspects.

Victim's counsel Muhammad Saleem Ansari, who is a member of free legal aid committee, said a private complaint had been lodged on Tuesday with the district and sessions judge against exonerating the suspects from the case. The court has fixed Jan 26 for hearing.

CRIME DECLINES: Police shot dead three proclaimed offenders in the last two months of the previous year after which there was a decline in crime rate in the district, claimed DPO Malik Khuda Bakhsh Awan at a news conference here on Tuesday.