Three-day remand extended in minor’s sexual abuse case

A magisterial court has extended the physical remand of an accused, implicated in a sodomy case involving a minor, by three days. The extension comes after the police requested additional time to conduct further tests on the accused. Accused Qari Abubakar was once again brought before the Shahdara police, seeking an extension of his remand to facilitate additional testing. The defense counsel argued against the extension, alleging that the police had unlawfully obtained evidence by serving intoxicants to the accused during his initial custody. He claimed that the accusations were fabricated and that his client was wrongfully implicated in the case. The defense further contended that the accused was taken into custody from Nankana and that the police filed the FIR after detaining him for only one day. Despite these arguments, the judge granted the police's request and extended the accused's physical remand for three days, instructing the authorities to expedite their investigation. According to the FIR filed by the victim's father, on April 7, he sent his 10-year-old son to the market to buy food items for Sehri (pre-dawn meal). When the boy did not return home, his father began searching for him. He eventually found a crowd gathered at a nearby graveyard, where his son was found crying and the accused had been apprehended. Upon questioning, the boy revealed that he had been sexually assaulted by the accused in the graveyard. Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2024.