BUDGAM: A court in Budgam today rejected the bail of four alleged female accomplices of fake faith healer Gulzar Bhat, who was arrested last year on charges of rape of girls at his seminary.
Court of Principal Sessions Judge, Budgam, Syed Tawqeer Ahmed rejected the bail application of four women despite allegations of rape in police station by one of the defendants.
The counsel for the defendants Mushtaq Ahmed Dar while seeking bail alleged that one of her clients from Nambla Uri was allegedly raped by police officers after her arrest.
Dar stated that the reason for the arrest of the woman followers of Gulzar Bhat was that they were protesting against the arrest of their Pir in Srinagar.
One woman follower was taken to Police station Khansahab wherefrom she was taken in a police vehicle to some unknown destination and DySP and SHO raped her, the counsel for the applicant alleged in the Court adding that the victims were innocent and deserve bail.
The women stated before the court that they have been arrested have been implicated in a false and frivolous case.
The police registered a case against Gulzar Bhat and wanted the applicants to be the witness in the case. Since, the applicants do not know anything about the case as the said Gulzar Bhat has not committed any offence with them or in their presence, the applicants informed the court.
Special Public Prosecutor Noor Muhammad Dar in his objections submitted that the accused persons have committed heinous offences unique in nature. He said that the accused have facilitated the commission of the crime by Gulzar Bhat.
Dar insisted the Court that if the accused persons were released on bail it will adversely affect upon the merits of the case. He said that the accused women have facilitated Gulzar Bhat in his heinous crimes.
Drawing the attention of Court towards the judgment of the Apex Court in a case titled, Shri Bodhisattwa Guttam Vs Miss Subhra Chakarborty the public prosecutor said that rape was not only a crime against the person of victim but it is the crime against the entire society.
After listening the arguments from both sides the Court rejected the bail citing the application premature, and keeping in mind the overall scenario of the case, circumstances in which the offence is alleged to have been committed, role of these applicants, apprehensions of tampering with the remaining prosecution witnesses and the interest of society at large.
Fake faith healer Gulzar Bhat was arrested last year along with some of this alleged accomplices after police received a joint complaint from minor girls that they were repeatedly sexually exploited during their stay at the institute run by him at Shamsabad Khansahab. (CNS)
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
