Rich Pakistani lady escapes punishment in road rage case after she is forgiven by victims’ family
Karachi, Sep 7: Relatives of a father-daughter duo have forgiven a female from a wealthy, influential Pakistani business family here who ran down a luxurious SUV over them, her lawyer said on Friday.
The incident drew widespread condemnation as the two killed came from lower middle class. The rich lady also injured three other motorcyclists on the main Karsaz Road in the city as she lost control of her car.
The accident on August 19 garnered lot of attention on social media and became a raging debate on television channels as videos of Natasha Danish appearing disoriented and unrepentant over her actions went viral.
As Natasha Danish hit Imran Arif and his daughter Amna Arif from behind, their motorcycle went flying, according to videos of the incident shared on social media and by the police.
Imran used to sell papers to shops while his daughter was employed in a private firm.
After the hearing at a Sessions Court earlier on Friday, Barrister Uzair Ghouri, representing the bereaved families, told the media outside the court that they (the families) had forgiven the driver in the name of Allah.
The defence lawyer had claimed after the incident that the accused had mental health issues and was under treatment since 2005.
The victims’ family submitted an affidavit in the court forgiving the accused.
The agreement between the affected families and the accused were presented in the court of a judicial magistrate where the case was under trial, after which the accused was granted bail.
Soon after social media erupted with blames that the family accepted blood money.
“The bereaved families have forgiven the accused in the name of Allah and it is baseless rumours that they have taken blood money (Diyat in Islamic Shariah laws) to forgive her for the deaths,” he said.
In Pakistan, under Sharia laws, a victim’s family/heirs can forgive an accused even if he or she has caused deaths.
The law is called Qisas and Diyat law. Qisas, defined as “punishment by causing similar hurt at the same part of the body of the convict,” and diyat meaning, “compensation … payable to the heirs of the victims.” “The court has released Natasha on bail, she can go anywhere in the world,” said defence lawyer barrister Amir Mansoob.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
