Police officer among 3 sentenced to jail

 PUL-I-KHUMRI (PAN): A Khost district police chief and two other officers were sentenced to six years in jail on charges of dereliction of duty and complicity in the abduction of a girl in the northern province of Baghlan, officials said on Wednesday.

The teenage girl, Maleeha, said she was released from the abductors 20 days ago as a result of mediation by tribal elders. She was kept for four months in captivity, the girl added.

Baghlan City Urban Court Judge Zabihullah Asim said the district police chief and two other officials had been convicted on the charge of negligence and each of them had been awarded six years in jail.

The verdict could be challenged in the court of appeals. He said the Gul Rahman, the abductor, had been absconding along with three accomplices, but police were trying to arrest them.

“My future will be ruined. My fiancé is not ready to meet me. I’m also afraid of the people who were behind my abduction,” Maleeha said. She welcomed the judgment and urged harsh punishment for the police officers.

myn/mud