KARACHI, June 5: The couple claiming the kidnapping of their newborn from the National Institute of Child Health, but later arrested when the woman was diagnosed with amenorrhea in successive medical investigations carried out at different hospitals, were granted bail by the judicial magistrate (South) on Monday.
The couple Arshad Ali, 16, and Shazia Nasirzai, 25, were granted bail by Judicial Magistrate Zulfiqar Ali against a surety of Rs10,000 each.
They were formally arrested on Saturday night following registration of an FIR (141/2006) on the complaint of Chaudhry Mohammad Akram, assistant director of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The complainant accused the couple of maligning the JPMC by their allegations.
The couple broke down and narrated their story in police custody saying that six months back, Shazia’s mother-in-law had told family members that her daughter-in-law was pregnant.
To keep her statement, Shazia faked and posed to distant family members throughout the period that she was with child, though her in-laws knew about the reality. For the last three months she stopped stepping out of the house and used to take full veil while coming in front of relatives.
She chose the Jinnah Hospital and the NICH because she had stayed at the two hospitals as an attendant for a distant relative of hers some time back, she told police. Because of Shazia’s gynaecological condition and social pressures, the couple had not anticipated such a fallout, remarked a police official.
Without carrying out her psychological examination, the authorities are convinced that Shazia is not suffering from any problem, only social pressures and her gynaecological deficit drove her to this extent.
The family belongs to Mardan and the couple having sharp age difference don’t have a marriage certificate. “Back in Mardan our Nikah was held in the presence of four elders. We don’t need any papers to show our marriage,” Arshad Ali told police.
According to the medical report issued by Dr Rahat Qureshi , associate professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, AKUH, Shazia Nisarzai cannot conceive or bear children unless treated.
Sixteen-year-old Arshad Ali used to work in a marble factory in Site, while his father Abdul Ghaffar does not have a job. However, Ghaffar is still adamant that his daughter-in-law is under a spell that is the reason all the reports are testing negative.
To make matters worse, the couple is faced with another FIR on behalf of the State for lodging a fake FIR (130/2006) at the Saddar police station in which the couple reported the kidnapping of their infant son.
Investigators said the FIR had been referred to the prosecution branch for rendering it B class, following which an FIR under section 182 will be registered against the couple.
