KARACHI, July 18: Dr Kashif Mateen, who was booked and arrested for stealing a kidney from a patient during surgery at a hospital, moved his bail application in the Additional District and Sessions Court, Central.

Judge Naseem Mansoor put off the bail matter till July 22 and issued notices to the prosecution for the next date of hearing.

Dr Mateen has been accused of stealing a healthy kidney from a patient, Mohammad Kashif, during a surgical operation on May 7. The complainant patient, who lodged the FIR against the doctor with the Taimuria police, alleged that instead of removing gall bladder, the doctor removed his kidney.

In his bail application, the suspected doctor submitted to the court that he was innocent and the allegations levelled against him were baseless. He said the two prosecution witnesses, who recorded their statements before a judicial magistrate, did not support the case of prosecution.

AFREEN BAIG CASE: District and Sessions Judge, South, Ms Farzana Anver Shah, granted bail to the maid of Afreen Baig, who was booked for the killing of her employer.

The judge gave bail to Zahida Perveen in the sum of Rs25,000 and put off the hearing of the case till July 31.

Farooq Mengal, husband of TV artiste Afreen Baig, is alleged to have masterminded her killing. The driver of the victim, Mohammad Bukhsh Umrani, and his wife, Zahida Perveen, are the co-accused.

Mohammad Bukhsh gave his confessional statement before a judicial magistrate and stated that he had killed the woman on the inducement of her husband, Farooq Mengal, who had promised to give him Rs1 million for the murder. The driver was given to the judicial custody by the judicial magistrate after his confessional statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Confessing conspiracy, the accused said that Farooq Mengal was angry as he suspected illicit relationship of Afreen with her former husband Masjood. “Saab told me that he could not divorce his wife due to social pressure as he had already divorced his first wife,” he said.

The driver stated that in case of divorce, Mengal would have to give his wife alimony of Rs1 million.

Giving the details of the murder, Mohammad Bukhsh said that he sent his wife Zahida to Afreen’s room to bring the victim’s cellular phone downstairs. He said Afreen became infuriated and came down chasing his wife. He said that as she came down, he slapped her and trussed her up with a sofa. Then, he said, he made her sign two cheques for Rs250,000 each. He said he made the woman drink the entire bottle of Red Label (Scotch Whisky). Later, he made her drink a glass of milk laced with sedatives.

Mohammad Bukhsh said the woman started vomiting and he gagged her mouth and killed her. “Then, I shifted her to the bathtub and left for purchasing air tickets for his wife and himself.

He said the watchman of the neighbours saw them leaving the victim’s house in a haste.

He also stated that Farooq Mengal was in contact with them during and after the incident.

However, later he retracted his confessional statement and pleaded not guilty when the court formally indicted the accused.

Mengal and Umrani are still in judicial custody.

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