Islamabad couple harassment case: Usman Mirza, 4 others given life sentence

ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court Friday sentenced Usman Mirza, the main accused in the Islamabad harassment case, and four others for life and acquitted two accomplices.

The case was heard in the Additional Sessions Court Islamabad where the police produced all the accused including Usman Mirza in the court.

After the hearing, Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani awarded life imprisonment to Usman Mirza, Hafiz Ataur Rehman, Adaras Qayyum Butt, Farhan Shaheen, and Mohib Bangash. 

Meanwhile, Umar Bilal and Rehan Hassan Mughal were acquitted.

During today's hearing, the judge asked accused Farhan Shaheen to narrate what happened on that day? Was he present on the spot? To which he claimed that he is innocent and was not present on the spot; however, the judge directed the police to take him back as his version was heard.

Accused Mohib Mirza also told the judge that he was at home when the incident took place.

Meanwhile, the additional sessions judge cross-examined Usman Mirza questioning him why did he make the video. Replying to the question, he said that he did not know anything about the video “this was done by our opponents.”

U-Turn

In January, the victim couple, who was harassed at a flat in Sector E-11 of the federal capital, took a U-turn and refused to recognise the accused persons.

Victim Sundas Tahir, wife of Asad Raza, declared in her written statement on an attested affidavit with her signature and thumb impression, that: “I state on oath that the accused, who have been nominated in the case and who are arrested and produced before the court of law, were neither those persons who were seen in the video and who were present on the place of occurrence, nor any one of them put strain on me nor filmed any video forcibly and not even took off my dress under duress.”

“I did not record any statement against any accused nominated and arrested in the case before the police investigators or magistrate and neither nominated nor identified any of them. I do not want to proceed any case against any accused, nominated or arrested in the case,” the victim girl had further stated.

The case

It is worth mentioning here that last year in July, a video surfaced on social media in which the main accused in the case, Usman Mirza, could be seen violently thrashing and harassing a young couple in a room full of other men.

Within a few hours of the video going viral, the Islamabad police took Mirza into custody and registered a first information report (FIR) in the case.

Later on, seven people, including Usman Mirza, were indicted in the Islamabad couple harassment case.

Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani had indicted all the accused, including Hafiz Ataur Rehman, Farhan Shaheen, Adaras Qayyum Butt, Rehan Hassan Mughal, Umar Bilal and Mohib Bangash.

Furthermore, Islamabad High Court had rejected the bail appeals of the three accused and directed the authorities to complete Usman Mirza's trial case in two months.