Cyber crime accused’s remand extended

KARACHI: South Judicial Magistrate Asif Ahmad extended the physical remand of an accused held in a case of cyber crime till February 14.

Police presented the accused and requested for his physical remand in police custody, maintaining that this would help in the inquiry about his accomplices and the instruments used in the crime. A FIR, no 01/2009, was registered against the accused, Syed Asif Ali Shah son of Mubarak Ali Shah. The state, through Inspector Zafar Iqbal of the FIA Karachi Cyber Crime Circle, is the complainant in the case.

The complainant informed the court that they had received a written complaint from the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Deputy General Manager Electronic Solutions. The PIA official had said that PIA was finding it difficult to maintain transactions and was suffering from huge financial loses at the hands of fraudsters who were involved in the issuance of electronic tickets. “Unknown people were issuing e-tickets through the website for domestic and international sectors with different passengers names against stolen credit cards,” the complainant quoted the PIA official.

He maintained that the payments of such transactions made on stolen credit cards were declined by the issuing banks and resulted in PIA incurring financial loses. The crime is punishable under section 7,8 and 9 of the Prevention of Electronic Crime Ordinance (PECO) 2007.

Meanwhile, District and Sessions Judge South Abdul Naeem Memon issued non-bailable warrants of 3 police officials of Frere Town for not complying with the orders of the court. The court had earlier served several notices to DSP Asghar Ali Shah, TPO Azad Khan and Inspector Nasiruddin for appearance before court but they failed to abide by the orders.

Rape victim says his life has been ruined

By M. Waqar Bhatti

Khalil Ahmed, the person who was allegedly abducted by three women from Clifton and subjected to sexual harassment says the incident has not only destroyed his social life but also caused him emotional, physical and monetary harms and losses.

“I am in immense pain, both physically and emotionally. I have lost my job, and have been told to take complete bed rest by doctors. Meanwhile, I have no money to spend on treatment and fulfill other basic needs,” he told The News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

Twenty-two-year-old Khalil Ahmed, son of Muhammad Hussain Bux, was reportedly abducted by three women in Clifton and was sexually assaulted for many days while being kept in illegal confinement at an undisclosed location.

The Boating Basin Police registered a case against unidentified women for abduction, illegal confinement and torture but they are still clueless about the culprits while some investigators are also expressing doubts at the events narrated by Ahmed.

For Khalil Ahmed, who belongs to Tehsil Ahmed Pur Sharqia of Bahawalpur, Punjab, skepticism expressed by police officers as well as his friends and relatives is proving to be another dilemma and source of mental torture for him.

“Worst of all, when people say that I’m telling lies as no such incident took place or I’m a male prostitute, it hurts the most. Media persons, police investigators and my acquaintances have so many conspiracy theories that I can’t even think of,” he deplored.

Recalling the course of events on January 27, 2009, Khalil Ahmed says when the women sitting in a Suzuki car near the hotel, where works as waiter in Caf? Al-Hafiz in Clifton, asked him to go along them to see their residence, it was monetary greed which compelled to go with them. “I earn Rs200 as daily wage and get Rs200 commission on the sale of food worth Rs1,000. At that time, I thought I would get another 200 rupees by delivering meals to those women, without knowing that my greed would destroy my entire life,” he said.

According to him, he is married but his wife has not been handed over to him as her Rukhsati has not been carried out yet. “I have been getting signals that this event could also result in end of my marriage even before I could see my wife,” he says.

According to him, doctors have asked him to take complete bed rest for at least six months and avoid indulging in sexual intercourse or he could become impotent for the rest of his life.

“Those three or four days were the filthiest and most abhorrent period of my life and now sex has become a loathsome act for me. My internal and external reproductive organs are still aching even after the passage of nearly two weeks of this incident,” he said.

On the other hand, Medico legal officer Nisar Shah who conducted the clinical examination of the victim at the Civil Hospital Karachi says that the condition of the victim at the time of examination proved his story as he was passing blood with urine while his reproductive organ was also swollen.

“But I doubt this story and it is the responsibility of the police to probe whether he was abducted and kept in illegal confinement or not. Once it is established, the rest is an easy job,” he said.

He, however, said that the chemical examination of victim’s blood and urine samples had not been carried out yet to ascertain whether he was given any tranquilizers and drugs but said these tests could be done at any moment.

Shabir, the owner of the restaurant Caf? Al-Hafiz where Ahmed used to work also doubted his story and said that it was fabricated.

“We have never heard any such thing happening here. He is befooling us and the entire nation just to get famous and earn some money but he would not succeed in his tactics,” he claimed.

On the other hand, the police are still clueless about the culprits who abducted Ahmed but said that they were trying their best to solve the mystery. “He has given us the registration number of the vehicle, which is not complete. He neither sure about the make, model or colour of the vehicle used in the abduction nor about the place where he was taken,” an investigator said on condition of anonymity.

He said that the police had registered a case under sections 342, 243/34 of the PPC and 337 of Qasass and Diyat Ordinance, which relates to abduction, illegal confinement and torture.

Justice (retd) Khawaja Naveed when contacted said there was no special section in the PPC which defines such crime but said police could register a case under the Hudood Ordinance. “It is a form of adultery and the Hudood Ordinance could be the most relevant law to define the nature of the crime. However it is up to the police as to how they take the issue and register a case,” he said. (The News)