PESHAWAR, March 5: The district and sessions judge, Chitral, on Tuesday rejected bail petition of Jamaat-i-Islami leader and former district nazim, Haji Maghfirat Shah, accused of keeping stolen explosives at the site of his under-construction hydropower station.

The court presided over by Syed Zamurad Shah ruled that keeping in view circumstances of the occurrence prima facie case existed against Maghfirat Shah and another accused person Tanveer Ahmad, and thus they were not entitled to the concession of bail.

A few days ago a judicial magistrate concerned had also dismissed the bail petition of the former nazim.

The FIR of the case was registered at Koghuzi police station in Chitral on Feb 15, 2013, on a written complaint of Mr Sohail, an official of the Korean SAMBU Construction Company, concerning stealing of 850 kilogrammes of explosive material from the project site at Golen Gole area.

The prosecution claimed that Maghfirat Shah had bought part of the stolen explosive substance from an unauthorised person without having any license/permit and after coming into picture, he allegedly handed over 250 kilogrammes of it to Chitral Scouts, which was handed over to the police.

Advocate Zafar Hayat, appearing for the former nazim, argued that the bail should be given on the principle of consistency as two other accused had already been granted bail in the same case.

He contended that Chitral Scouts had transgressed their powers by recovering the explosive substance from the site as under the Code of Criminal Procedure the active help of the local police should have been taken on the occasion.

Citing a precedence of a decision by Peshawar High Court in almost an identical case, the counsel argued that the court should apply its independent mind on the sections of law incorporated in the FIR.

He stated that the present bail petition could not be turned down merely on the basis that offences covered in those sections were non-bailable.