Prosecution rests its case in trainee nurse rape trial

By Ishaq Tanoli

KARACHI: The prosecution on Wednesday closed its side after examining 10 witnesses in the JPMC trainee nurse rape case.

The then medico-legal officer at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Dr Abdul Jabbar Memon, has been charged with sexually assaulting and making an attempt on the life of a student of the nursing school at the JPMC on July 13, 2010 at the residential area of the hospital.

The witness, Dr Pardeep Kumar, appeared in court on Wednesday and deposed that he had conducted the medical examination of the accused.

As soon as the witness completed his testimony, the public prosecutor, Kaleemullah, informed the court that apart from the victim who had turned hostile, the prosecution examined 10 out of 20 witnesses and decided to close its side, as the remaining witnesses were just formal witnesses and their evidence would not make any positive or negative impact on this case.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (south) Abdul Razzaq adjourned the hearing till May 7 for the statement of the accused.

A case (FIR 332/2010) was registered under Sections 324 (attempted murder) and 376 (punishment for rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code against the accused MLO at the Saddar police station.

The accused was released on bail in Nov, 2010 after the victim, a key prosecution witness, had refused to identify or depose against him before the trial court.

Warrant against IO out

An accountability court on Wednesday issued a non-bailable warrant for the arrest of the investigation officer of a corruption reference for failing to comply with the court`s order.

The National Accountability Bureau filed a reference (11/2009) against Muzaffar Ali Soomro, an additional commissioner income tax, for accumulating moveable/immoveable properties during his government service which were incompatible with his known legitimate sources of income.

On the last hearing, the court directed the IO, Chaudhry Mohammad Asghar, to appear in court and produce a document. However, he did not turn up on Wednesday.

Judge Syed Kausar Ali Bukhari of the Accountability Court-II issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him and directed the NAB to arrest and produce him in court till May 5.

Meanwhile, a judicial magistrate on Wednesday granted bail to a young suspect in a case pertaining to impersonation in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam.

Sixteen-year-old Mohammad Sarwar Khan has been booked for fraudulently appearing in the ongoing SSC (Class-X) annual examination on behalf of a candidate.

Source: Dawn

Date:4/28/2011

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