28 September 2004	Tuesday	12 Shaban 1425

PESHAWAR, Sept 27: The Peshawar High Court on Monday granted bail to a juvenile in a case of drug pushing. A single-judge bench of Justice Tariq Pervez ordered Fida Mohammad to be released after furnishing sureties of Rs200,000.

The Anti-Narcotics Force had claimed that they had received a tip that narcotics were to be smuggled to Punjab following which they cordoned off the road near the Hayatabad Industrial Estate on May 14.

The ANF stated that when the suspected vehicle reached the spot its driver left the vehicle and fled. The accused-petitioner was arrested by the ANF, stating that he was sitting on the rear seat. The ANF had recovered 206 kilograms of charas, 20 kilograms of opium, a Kalashnikov and a pistol from the car.

The bench inquired from the ANF's counsel how it became possible for the main accused who was driving the car to flee when the ANF had a prior tip about the smuggling attempt to prevent which they had a large force at their disposal.

The bench also asked the counsel whether it was possible for the driver to escape from the scene without connivance of the ANF officials. The counsel stated that the driver might have been an informer of the force.

The petitioner's counsel contended that when the real culprit escaped from the scene the ANF officials arrested the boy who was just a passer by. He added that the boy was a student of a nearby school which was the reason of his presence in the area.