GILGIT: A session court in Ghakuch has granted bail to two suspects accused of raping a teenage boy at gunpoint in the remote Barkolti village of Yasin Valley in Ghizer district, Gilgit-Baltistan.
A single-member bench of Sessions Judge Lukman Hakim approved the bail against bonds of Rs. 500,000 with two local sureties each.
The suspects, Altaf Hussain and Shahjehan, both Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts personnel, were arrested following an FIR registered under sections 367A, 377, and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. According to the complaint, the suspects allegedly abducted the Class 11 student of Army Public School Yasin at gunpoint on September 26, sexually assaulted him, and recorded the act on their mobile phone. The victim reported being threatened with the release of the video and physical harm if he disclosed the incident.
During the bail hearing, the defense counsel argued that the FIR was lodged with a delay of two days and lacked eyewitness accounts. They also highlighted the absence of a conclusive medical report or DNA evidence, questioning the credibility of the allegations. Citing a precedent from 2022 SCMR P-1447, they argued that the delayed FIR raised concerns of deliberation and consultation before filing the complaint.
The complainant’s lawyer countered, explaining that the victim was in shock and feared retaliation, which caused the delay. He emphasized that the crime was non-bailable and fell under the prohibitory clause of Section 497 Cr.PC. He argued that the victim’s statement and medical report were sufficient to establish the crime.
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In his verdict, Judge Hakim observed that the absence of timely forensic evidence and the delayed FIR weakened the prosecution’s case. He noted that the medical report did not corroborate the allegations and that forensic results were still pending. “The statement of the victim alone cannot be relied upon in such circumstances,” the court stated, while also noting that the suspects had been in custody for three months without the police submitting a final charge sheet. The court granted bail subject to the suspects furnishing bonds and sureties as required.
“Injustice has been done to us. The judge granted bail to them [suspects],” the victim’s uncle, Murad Khan, told HUM News English. He stated that the suspects were powerful and influential, and he had no support from anyone. He also criticized the FIA for failing to provide the forensic report of the suspects’ mobile phones or the video evidence, which he believes weakened the case. Murad Khan added that they plan to challenge the verdict in the Chief Court of Gilgit.