PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Saturday granted bail to an accused charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a young girl about two months ago in Mardan as the prosecution had not conducted her DNA test.

A single bench comprising Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim accepted bail petition filed by the accused, Akhter Hussain, and directed that the petitioner should furnish two sureties of Rs100,000 each.

The alleged victim was taken away from her residence in Mardan by the accused to the residence of his sister in Swabi district where he sexually assaulted her. He was charged under section 376 (offence of rape) and section 365- B (kidnapping woman) of Pakistan Penal Code in the FIR registered at Jabbar police station, Mardan, on June 13, 2018.

Mother of the victim was complainant in the case who claimed that she had gone out of residence and found her daughter missing when she returned.

Later, the police in Swabi were informed by father-in-law of the accused’s sister residing in Swabi that the accused had brought a girl to their residence and when they heard hue and cry from the guestroom they spotted the girl there after which the accused fled from there.

Advocate Shabir Hussain Gigyani appeared for the petitioner and contended that the prosecution’s case was full of contradictions. He pointed out that the prosecution had also not carried out the mandatory DNA tests of the victim as well as the accused.

Mr Gigyani argued that in 2016 certain amendments were made in the PPC and Code of Criminal Procedure after which it was mandatory to conduct DNA tests in cases of sexual assault. He argued that under section 164B of the CrPC where an offence of sexual assault was committed or attempted to have been committed, samples where practicable shall be collected from the victim and the accused during their medical examination.

He contended that even in the medical examination the concerned doctor had not clearly mentioned whether the offence of rape had taken place or not. He added that allegation of kidnapping was also not correct as she was not a minor.

An additional advocate general contended that the petitioner was not entitled to bail as the offence carried punishment of life imprisonment.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2018