LAHORE, Oct 6: The Lahore High Court has ordered an inquiry into police failure to put up a challan in an abduction case registered in October 1999 and asked the Home Department secretary and the IGP to look into malpractice in the Police Department.

According to the FIR registered by Liaquatpur (Rahim Yar Khan) police, Rahmat Bibi, who was married to Nasrullah in July 1999, was abducted by Abid Husain, who married her in the following September. Two co-accused were granted bail while Abid was denied the concession by the additional district and sessions judge.

Abid moved the high court for bail, contending before Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmad that the principle of consistency required that he should be granted bail along with other accused, that he and Rahmat Bibi were lawfully married, though against the wishes of her parents, and that his wife had already filed a suit for jactitation of her marriage with Nasrullah. He had been seriously injured by his in-laws and merited bail on medical grounds also. The police officers, he said, had made contradictory statements about the submission of challan.

Dismissing the bail plea, Justice Ijaz observed that unlike his co-accused, petitioner Abid was assigned a specific role in the FIR. Mere filing of a suit for jactitation of marriage does not legalize the second nikah or exonerate the petitioner of the charge of zina or entitle him to bail.

As for bail on medical ground, the administrator of Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan, was asked to constitute a board to examine the petitioner within 15 days and if the board report so warranted, the petitioner would be free to move a fresh bail application.

The judge regretted that Sub-Inspector Ghulam Murtaza of the Liaquatpur police station, who was investigating the case, and SHO Hamid Mukhtar had made contradictory statements. The SHO informed the court on Thursday that the challan was lying with the district attorney for finalization.

The judge directed the Bahawalpur DIG to probe the matter and take action against the delinquent official(s) within three weeks under the Efficiency and Discipline Rules. The SSP should ensure that the challan was submitted within three weeks. The IGP and the home secretary were also directed to look into malpractice in the Police Department.