KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Saturday granted bail to six suspects arrested a day before in Korangi for allegedly attacking a polio team with shovels.

The investigating officer of the case brought the six suspects — Amna, Iqra and Ibrahim, alias Faizan (all juvenile suspects) and Samina Khan, Mahjabeen Suleman and Gul Imran — before the judicial magistrate (East), seeking their police remand for further interrogation.

The IO informed the court that they had hurt three polio workers, including two women, who had suffered serious injuries.

He requested for their physical custody for 14 days to check their criminal records and also to apprehend their remaining accomplices. He also produced in court two shovels recovered from the held suspects.

Magistrate denies IO’s request of 14-day police remand

However, the defence counsel submitted the court to grant the suspects bail as the Pakistan Penal Code sections incorporated in the FIR were bailable.

After hearing both sides, the court rejected the IO’s request and granted bail to all the six suspects against a personal bond of Rs10,000 each.

A case was registered at the Korangi police station under Sections 147 (rioting), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 337-A (shajjah-i-Khafifah), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the PPC.

According to the FIR, a polio team comprising three workers, along with seven policemen, arrived at a home in Sector-20, where the family misbehaved with them. When the polio workers insisted that administering polio drops to children was ‘imperative’, the women became furious and attacked the team. In the meantime, two men from the house also came out and started beating the polio workers.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2024