KARACHI: The father of a two-year-old boy on Monday approached a court for obtaining pre-arrest bail for his son, who was booked in an alleged fraud case.

Judicial Magistrate (West) Ghazanfar Abbas, who was hearing the case, expressed displeasure with police and summoned the investigating officer to furnish an explanation for showing the toddler an absconder.

The Docks police had booked two-year-old Ramzan Shah along with his father and nine other relatives in a case pertaining to allegedly illegally withdrawing money under the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

On Monday, the family members brought the kid to the court of the judicial magistrate and moved an application for grant of bail to avoid the toddler’s arrest.

Advocate Sardar Liaquat Ali Gabol submitted that the IO, Mukhtiar Tanoli, had shown the kid as ‘absconder’ in the present case, which showed grave negligence on his part.

He alleged that the IO was allegedly demanding Rs500,000 as a bribe to clear the names of the kid and his family members.

He pleaded the court to grant bail to the toddler to avoid him from being arrested.

The judge expressed serious displeasure over IO Tanoli over filing a charge sheet that showed the toddler as an absconder.

He summoned the IO on Feb 13 along with the final investigation report directing him to furnish an explanation about showing the minor child as an absconder.

In the meanwhile, the additional district and sessions judge (West) granted interim pre-arrest bail to the kid’s five relatives and fixed the matter on Feb 9.

Police said complainant Shazim Akhtar, said to be a director of the BISP in Clifton, had lodged an FIR, alleging that many people were caught red-handed while illegally withdrawing money from an ATM near the Dr Ziauddin Hospital BISP by using the cards issued to the beneficiaries under the BISP by using fake thumb impressions.

On his complaint, a case was registered against 10 people, including the kid Ramzan Shah, under Sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly Inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using a genuine a forged document) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Docks police station.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2023