Lahore High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Punjab government and police on a petition by a man accusing his former wife and two uncles of colluding to get him declared mentally challenged in order to snatch his property.
Justice Shehbaz Rizvi issued the order on the petition of Abariz Naeem, 52, an engineer and resident of Johar Town.
Through his counsel, Naeem submitted before the court that a few days ago Salma, his wife at the time, and his two uncles, Khalilur Rehman and Fazlur Rehman, kidnapped him at gunpoint from his car. He said they took him to a mental hospital in Lahore where two doctors’ alleged connivance led to him being admitted.
He said that they gave him an injection that was supposed to make him unconsciousness but did not. He said that he heard the two doctors assure his wife and uncles that he would be a mad man within two weeks. Naeem said he managed to escape from the hospital two days later with the help of a few employees. He said the hospital administration had lodged a fake FIR with Shadman police against his friends, accusing them of kidnapping him from the hospital.
The petitioner said that he had divorced his wife after the incident.
He said that his former wife had one son from a previous marriage and she wanted his property including a house and a stitching unit transferred in her son’s name.
He said the Township ASP had taken a bribe from his wife and his uncles, and that he had a CCTV camera recording proving that.
Naeem asked the court to direct the Punjab government and the Punjab police chief to ensure his protection from his ex-wife and his uncles.
The judge issued notices to the respondents and asked for their reply within a week.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2014.