By Adnan Rafique
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday granted post-arrest bail to a woman accused Mahnoor Shahid in a murder and abduction case.
Justice Shahrukh Arjumand granted bail to the accused against surety bonds of Rs. 500,000 through a written order.
The court observed that the accused was not named in the initial First Information Report (FIR) and was subsequently nominated through a supplementary statement. Under Section 497 of the Pakistan Penal Code, grant of bail to a female accused is a rule, the court noted.
The court further observed that no direct and specific role in the murder had emerged against the accused and that the matter required further inquiry. It noted that the challan had already been submitted, the investigation had been completed and no further investigation of the accused was required.
The court clarified that its observations were tentative in nature and would not affect the final decision of the trial court.
According to the case record, a case was registered at Phulgran Police Station on May 4, regarding the abduction and murder of Farukh Afzal.
According to complainant Chaudhry Afzal, unidentified persons forcibly took his son Farukh Afzal away in a vehicle at around midnight and opened fire while fleeing. The deceased’s mobile phone was subsequently switched off.
During the investigation, Mahnoor Shahid was nominated as an accused through the complainant’s supplementary statement recorded on May 5.
According to the prosecution, the accused was alleged to have planned the murder and arranged for the abduction of the deceased.
