An Anti-Terrorism Court on Monday has granted post-arrest bail to three suspects allegedly involved in the harassment of a woman in Ichra market for wearing a shirt with Arabic script printed on it, reports Dawn.
The suspects, identified as Muhammad Nadeem, Adil Sarwar, and Altimash Saqlain, were arrested and sent to jail on judicial remand after the court denied further custody to the police on March 19.
The lawyers for the suspects argued in the court that the police arrested their clients without any evidence, and only under pressure to show performance to the government.
Judge Arshad Javed allowed bail petitions of the suspects subject to furnishing surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.
The judge also disposed of pre-arrest bail petitions of two other suspects — Maulana Aleemuddin Shakir and Khalid Shehansha — as withdrawn in the light of a discharge report submitted by the police.
In the FIR lodged a week after the incident it was stated that dozens of people accused a woman of blasphemy in Ichra bazaar as they confused the Arabic text printed on her shirt with Quranic verses. The mob threatened to kill the woman. A police team led by ASP Sheharbano Naqvi rescued the woman and shifted her to a police station.
