PESHAWAR, Dec 23: Additional District and Sessions Judge Shehbar Khan on Thursday acquitted 12 persons who had been accusing of raping a schoolgirl.
The court accepted an application filed by the accused, 11 of them employees of Civil Secretariat, under Section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code.
According to the section, the trial court can acquit an accused before conclusion of the trial if the evidence on record is not enough for conviction. The accused, who were on bail, included: Section Officer Zahir Khan, and other employees Alam Gul, Mosam Khan, Nijat Ali, Tasleem Gul, Muhammad Nabi, Ali Gohar, Sultan Muhammad, Sher Muhammad, Mumtaz Ali, Sherzada Khan and Abdullah Jan.
The defence counsel contended that the victim was not available and there was no other witness to testify against the applicants. The victim had also given conflicting statements in the beginning of the case, he said.
The case had assumed immense importance in 1998 when various organizations held protest demonstrations. The police claimed that the girl had been taken by a woman employee of her school to the secretariat. There were also allegations that the girl had been taken to the MPA hostel, situated near the building of the home department. The girl, a student of a local school, was found unconscious near the building of the NWFP home department on the night of March 6, 1998.
Initially, she claimed that she had jumped from the rooftop of the building to commit suicide. But before an inquiry tribunal, she said she did not know who had sexually assaulted her. Finally, she accused the section officer and other employees of sexually abusing her.
