Dua kidnapping case: Zaheer, brother get extension in interim bail

KARACHI: A district and sessions court on Tuesday extended the interim pre-arrest bail of Zaheer Ahmed and his brother Shabbir in Dua Zahra kidnapping case.

Zaheer hailing from Punjab made a controversial marriage with underage girl Dua following which the girls’ parents filed her daughter’s kidnapping case in the court. In Sindh, girl’s legal marriage age is 18 years. A medical board has declared Dua’s age between 15 and 16 years.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Rajesh Chandar Rajput heared the application of Zaheer and Shabir seeking extension in their interim bail. The police produced duo in the court. High security arrangements were made during the hearing.

The court extended the bail of Zaheer and Shabbir till August 1, ordering for arguments to be given at the next hearing.

Earlier on July 21, the district and sessions court in Karachi had granted the interim pre-arrest bail to Zaheer, husband of Dua Zehra, the teenager abducted from Karachi in April, and his brother Shabir. The two siblings were directed by the judge to join the investigation and submit Rs100,000 as surety bonds.

On July 16, police informed a sessions court that 24 people, including Zaheer and his brother, have been accused of involved in illegal marriage of Dua with Zaheer.

Presently, Dua has been kept at the Child Protection Bureau in Karachi after being shifted from Lahore’s shelter home on the order of Lahore High Court.

Officials at the Child Protection Bureau said that foolproof security measures had been taken for her.

The investigating officer of the Dua Zehra abduction case is set to produce the teenage girl before Judicial Magistrate Aftab Ahmed Bughio on Aug 1.

Last week, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had ruled since Dua Zehra was still a minor and a key witness in the case pertaining to her abduction, she cannot be permitted to stay on her own in Lahore till attaining maturity and disposal of the case.

On April 16, Dua’s parents filed an FIR alleging that their daughter had been kidnapped from Karachi. On April 26, she was recovered from Okara. Later, she told the Sindh High Court that she had not been kidnapped but left her home on her own and married Zaheer Ahmed of her own free will. She also claimed that she was 18 years old, but later a medical board found out his age between 15 and 16 years.