KARACHI, March 12: A woman told a judicial magistrate on Monday that she embraced Islam without any coercion and got married of her own free will.

Dr Lata Kumari, who was allegedly abducted within the remit of the Defence police station on Feb 2 this year, recorded her statement before Judicial Magistrate (south) Hatim Aziz Solangi under Section 164 of the criminal procedure code.

She testified that her former name was Lata Kumari but after embracing Islam she changed her name to Hafsa.

She stated that she married Nadir Baig, an engineer, of her own accord under Islamic laws.

She said that the case lodged against her husband regarding her kidnapping was baseless.

The magistrate recorded her statement in the presence of her husband, who is a suspect in the case.

Earlier in the day, when the investigation officer produced the woman in court, a lawyer appeared and, claiming to be her counsel, requested the court to defer the matter.

But in the meantime, another lawyer, who was standing for the suspect, approached the court and claimed that he was also the counsel for the woman and prayed to the court to record her statement.

The court recorded the testimony after completing legal formalities when the woman said that the second lawyer was representing her.

The court also directed Mr Baig to cooperate with the police after the investigation officer complained that the suspect neither turned up nor extended cooperation in the investigation after getting interim pre-arrest bail from a sessions court.

A case (FIR 83/12) was registered under Section 365-B (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel for marriage, etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code against the accused on a complaint of the woman’s father, Dr Ramesh Kumar.