KARACHI: A local court remanded on Friday a suspect in judicial custody in a case pertaining to alleged kidnapping of a teenage girl, who was also sent to a shelter home.

The suspect, 18-year-old Waqas, was arrested and booked for allegedly abducting a 17-year-old schoolgirl within the remit of the PIB Colony police station on Oct 4.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Dr Farooq Sattar was also booked in a related case for allegedly leading a protest by the young girl’s emotionally-charged family members and area residents and inciting them to violence.

On Friday, the investigating officer produced the detained suspect before the judicial magistrate concerned to seek his physical remand and the girl for recording her statement.

According to the contents of the first information report (FIR), the IO said the girl went to a private school on Thursday morning, but did not return home. Therefore, her father lodged a case regarding her alleged abduction. Later, the police traced the suspect and the girl in Surjani Town, he added.

The IO further mentioned that during the initial interrogation the girl recorded her statement under Section 161 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), denying that she had been abducted by the detained suspect saying that he was her friend.

The girl said she liked him and she left her home with the suspect by choice, added the IO. The IO requested for physical remand of the detained man arguing that medical examination of the girl was yet to be conducted and other legal formalities remained as well.

Later, the magistrate recorded the statement of the girl, who once again said that she left her home and went with the suspect on her own free will since she liked him.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2018