KARACHI: A local court on Saturday ordered constitution of a medical board to determine the age of Karachi’s teenage girl Dua Zehra, ARY News reported.
The court of Judicial Magistrate-East in the hearing of alleged kidnapping of Dua Zehra ordered further investigation of the case and constitution of a medical board to determine the age of the girl.
The counsel of the complainant the case and investigation officer appeared in the court today.
Complainant’s counsel said that the challan stands over two points, that the girl has been 17 years old and second is her statement.
“In Supreme Court we had pleaded for sending the girl to shelter home and constitution of the medical board,” the lawyer said.
The counsel read the aped court’s order. “We have given an application to the secretary health for determination of the girl’s age,” he further said. “The Supreme Court in its observation has said that the high court’s observation with regard to determination of her age was not an obstacle,” the counsel said.
“The case has been categorize as ‘C-Class’ declaring her age 17 years,” lawyer said. “How a case can be approved as ‘C-Class’ without constituting medical board. What will happen to the supreme court’s order,” he questioned.
“I want to read accused Zaheer’s sttement to the police. Accused has not been yet arrested,” counsel said. “Zaheer, in his statement to the police said that he had friendship with Dua Zehra for three years”. “I paid the taxi’s 22,000 rupees fare, when Dua Zehra reach Lahore on April 17,” quoting statement of accused, counsel said.
The court ordered further investigation of the case and constitution of a medical board to determine the age of the girl.
In previous hearing, the investigating officer (IO), had filed a challan before the judicial magistrate, urging the court to quash the FIR in Zehra case after categorizing the case as “C class”.
In the charge-sheet, the IO maintained that Dua Zehra, travelled from Karachi to Punjab and tied the knot with Zaheer Ahmed of her own free will. He said that no evidence was found that the girl had been abducted as the medical report confirmed Dua Zehra’s age between 16 to 17 years.
The IO removed Section-216 and Child Marriage Act against suspects in teenage girl abduction case. The challan also declared suspects, Asghar and Ghulam Mustafa, arrested in Zehra case as innocent.
