PESHAWAR, July 15: A local court on Tuesday granted bail to a juvenile offender arrested by the local police on charges of theft.

The court of Additional District and Sessions judge, Babar Ali Khan, ordered that the boy, Ajmal Khan, should be released after furnishing of two surety bonds of Rs50,000 each.

The court observed that keeping in view the evidence on record the applicant deserved to be released on bail. The boy, who is about 16, was a labourer at a local match factory. He was arrested by the Hayatabad police on Mar 8, 2008, after the management charged him with stealing emergency lights from the factory.

The child protection officer of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) appeared for the applicant and contended that he was falsely implicated in the case. He added that there was no evidence against the applicant and he was arrested on basis of mere allegations.

The judge Babar Ali Khan observed that the applicant was entitled to bail under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000, saying there were no previous charges of any offence against the applicant.