- Court rejected police’s plea to extend Fawad Chaudhry’s custody
- Fawad Chaudhry was sent to jail on physical remand
- Court ordered police to present Fawad on Feb 13
A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Monday rejected the police’s plea to extend PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry’s custody and sent him to jail on judicial remand.
Judicial Magistrate Waqas Ahmad Raja heard the case and issued a detailed five-page verdict. The investigating officer sought to extend the physical remand of the former minister by four days.
PTI leader was produced before the judge after the two-day physical remand ended. Police urged the court to extend the PTI leader’s physical remand.
The prosecutor said that a photogrammetric test has been conducted in Lahore but they want to recover Fawad mobile, laptop, and other devices. The official said the photogrammetric test was conducted to confirm a person’s identity with voice and photo matching.
The counsel for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not request further remand. He said they wanted the photogrammetric test which has been conducted.
Fawad Chaudhry’s counsel Babar Awan said his client had admitted to passing these comments and he was standing by his statement. He said the investigating officer did not give any concrete reason for extending the physical remand.
The court said further physical remand cannot be granted if no cogent reason is presented. Awan requested the judge to not let the police torture Fawad.
The judge asked Fawad if the police covered his face with a cloth sheet today. The PTI leader replied that they had not but said he was not being allowed to meet his family.
“I have not slept for more than two and a half hours in six days,” he told the court. “I was made to ride in the cargo bed of the police pickup truck in the cold.”
The court rejected the plea to extend the physical remand and send him to jail on judicial remand. Fawad is accused of making threatening statements against ECP officials.
The detailed verdict said Fawad Chowdhury’s photogram test and voice match test were conducted. It said no progress had been made by the investigating officer on the recovery of the accused’s mobile phone, laptop and other devices.
Fawad Chaudhury was sent to jail on judicial remand and be produced in court on February 13.
[embedpost slug=”court-hands-over-fawad-chaudhry-on-two-day-physical-remand/”]
