KARACHI, Feb 14: A bailiff accompanied by a woman and her lawyer on Thursday raided the Quaidabad police station and got her husband, apparently held there in wrongful confinement, released after the police failed to produce any concrete evidence to justify his detention.

The raid was conducted on a directive of a sessions court after the woman, Asma, filed a habeas corpus application in court under Section 491 of the criminal procedure code alleging that the police picked up her husband, Kashif, a week after they had contracted a freewill marriage.

The bailiff said he along with the applicant and her lawyer raided the police station and found Kashif detained in the lock-up. He stated that the police remained unable to produce any FIR and he got the detainee released on a personal bond.

The raid commissioner directed the police, including the station house officer and the duty officer, as well as the applicant to appear before the district and sessions court (Malir) on Friday when the bailiff would submit his report in court.

He quoted a police officer saying that they had received a complaint from the applicant’s brother, Mohammad Nadeem, about her kidnapping and that they brought the victim to the police station for interrogation, but no FIR was lodged in this regard.

In her application, Asma informed the court that she had contracted a freewill marriage with Kashif on Feb 4 at the city courts, because her parents were against it. She said the police picked up her husband from their home in the Quaidabad area on Feb 12 and detained him at the police station. She said her husband had been unlawfully detained at the Quaidabad police station for the past couple of days and alleged that the police demanded Rs100,000 as a bribe for his release.

She prayed to the court to order his release.

After a preliminary hearing, the district and sessions judge (Malir), Mohammad Yamin, appointed a bailiff as raid commissioner and directed him to recover the detainee if found in wrongful confinement.

21 sent to prison A judicial magistrate on Thursday remanded 21 suspects deported from Oman in jail custody till Feb 27.

The FIA took their custody following their arrival at the Karachi port on Feb 13.