HYDERABAD, Jan 14: Relatives of a woman attacked her and her husband

HYDERABAD, Jan 14: Relatives of a woman attacked her and her husband in the Civil Courts building where the newly-wed couple had come to seek court protection against harassment by the woman’s family. The couple was taken into protective custody by the Cantonment police who were directed by the sessions’ judge to lodge a case against the assailants.

Nusrat Babbur, 22, a resident of the Juman Babbur village in the Jhando Mari area, had married Abdul Sattar Mari on October 29, 2007 of her own free will, the couple’s lawyer Syed Inayat Hussain Shah told Dawn. The couple had come to the court to pursue their application filed under sections 22-A and 22-B CrPC, seeking protection against harassment by the girl’s parents.

The court had issued notices to the other side for January 21. The applicants cited 12 people, including Ali, Zafar Ali, Ather Ali, Shafi Mohammad, Ghulam Mohammad, Nawab, Usman, Inayat, Khabbar, Gul Hassan, Luqman and Maqsood, as respondents.

The counsel said that while the couple was waiting in the court premises the relatives had attacked the couple in order to kill them, declared as karo-kari in a jirga held on Jan 9. It led to hue and cry and police intervened in the matter. Some of the attackers were arrested by the police.

Soon the counsel filed another application before the court, seeking protection on the ground that there was danger to their lives. The court also got it verified from the court staff whether such an incident had happened. The court directed the additional SHO, Cantonment police station, Taqi Laskani, to provide protection to the couple and lodge a case against the assailant.

Inayat Shah said after the girl had married Sattar Mari, her parents asked her husband to let her go and they would hold a formal marriage ceremony. On the contrary, he said, the girl’s family held a jirga, presided over by one Shafi Mohammad Babbur, which declared the girl and her husband as karo-kari.

He said that after finding an opportunity the girl fled from her parent’s house and started living elsewhere.

He said that her relatives reached the court after they came to know about the presence of the couple in the civil courts premises and that they had filed an application.
Source: Dawn
Date:1/15/2008