A judicial magistrate on Monday denied post-arrest bail to Natasha Danish – the driver booked in the Karsaz accident – in a case filed against her by the police after her medical report showed she was under the influence of methamphetamine (crystal meth).
On August 19, a speeding Toyota Land Cruiser, driven by Danish, hit three motorcycles and another car before overturning on the city’s Karsaz Road. Sixty-year-old Imran Arif and his 22-year-old daughter Amna were killed in the accident, while three others were wounded. The driver was arrested and booked for manslaughter charges.
The police then said that Danish’s medical report – conducted upon the request of the victims’ counsel – showed she was under the influence of crystal meth.
Consequently, a separate first information report (FIR) was registered by the police against Danish under Section 11 (drinking liable to tazir) of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order (PEHO) of 1979.
Danish was granted bail last week after the counsel to the victims’ family said they had pardoned her and removed their objections.
After being granted bail by the sessions court, the defence counsel and state prosecutor Muzafar Soomro appeared before Judicial Magistrate (East) Muhammad Raza Ansari to argue on a separate bail application filed in the drug case.
The defence argued that the investigating officer had “manipulated the blood and urine samples” taken from his client.
The state prosecutor opposed the bail application and after hearing the arguments the court reserved its order.
The order, given today by Judge Ansari, said that Danish’s lawyer could not satisfy the court regarding section 11 (drinking liable to tazir) of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order (PEHO) of 1979, adding that the claim of blood and urine samples being manipulated was false.
“There is nothing as such in the police’s file,” the court said. It said that the nine objections raised by the suspect’s family had “no legal value”, adding that it was surprising that a “highly educated woman” was driving under the influence.
It observed that granting the suspect bail in the drug case would “have a negative impact on society”.
The order was subsequently challenged before the Additional District and Sessions Judge (East) Shahid Ali Memon.
