PESHAWAR: A local court has acquitted two men on the charge of killing an Ahmadi homeopath in his clinic on the outskirts of the provincial capital last year.

Additional sessions judge Attaullah Jan ruled that the accused facing trial, Ehsanullah of Bara tehsil in Khyber tribal district as well as his co-accused of Darra Adamkhel, a juvenile person,were given the benefit of doubt for acquittal in the murder case.

He added that Ehsanullah, who was in custody, would be released forthwith if he was not wanted in any other case.

The co-accused has already been freed after the grant of bail.

Gives accused benefit of doubt in case

The deceased, Dr Abdul Qadir, 65, was attacked in his clinic in Bazidkhel area on Feb 11, 2021, by the prime accused during a visit. Ehsanullah, who pretended to be a patient, allegedly fired gunshots at the homeopath and tried to escape.

However, he was allegedly overpowered by the deceased’s cousin, Dr Ibne Amin, who was present in the clinic at that time.

The co-accused was arrested after he, as the police claimed, was named by the prime accused as his accomplice during initial investigation.

The prime accused had allegedly told police that the co-accused had provided him with the pistol used in the murder.

The FIR of the targeted killing was registered at the Inqilab police station under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 13 of the Arms Act.

The complainant in the case was Dr Ibne Amin, who claimed that he was present at the clinic and had gone to another room for attending a phone call when he heard fire shots.

The complainant claimed that he chased the prime accused and caught him near the clinic before handing him over to the policemen, which showed up later.

He claimed that his cousin was killed for religious reasons.

The family members of the deceased didn’t pursue trial.

The defence counsel contended that the prosecution’s case was ‘full of doubts’ and that the accused were falsely implicated in it.

He argued that there was no witness to the killing, so merely on basis of rumours and allegations, the accused couldn’t be convicted.

BAIL DENIED: A child protection court has turned down the bail plea of a man arrested on charge of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy.

Additional sessions judge Hina Mehwish observed that the offence allegedly committed by the petitioner was ‘sensational in nature, bore deeper repercussions on collective moral fabric of society and fell within the prohibitory clause of Section 497 of the Code of Criminal Procedure’, so he was not entitled to the concession of bail.

The accused was named in an FIR registered at the Tehkal police station on July 24 under Section 377 (unnatural offence) of the PPC and Section 53 (sexual abuse) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Child Protection and Welfare Act.

The boy had visited the police station after being subjected to the crime and said that he had gone to the market to buy bread when the accused along with a co-accused took him away at gunpoint. He alleged that the accused sexually assaulted him and allowed him to go away next morning.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2022