MULTAN: Mufti Abdul Qavi was granted bail in the Qandeel Baloch murder case on Tuesday.
The bail was granted during the latest hearing of the case in Multan’s session court and comes only a day after the judicial remand of the accused was extended by seven days.
Mufti Qavi was granted bail against a surety bond of Rs200,000. Presenting arguments, the suspect’s lawyer submitted that since other primary suspects of the case were being granted bail, Mufti Qavi, who was held only on the suspect of inciting the murder, should no longer be held in police custody.
During the earlier hearing of the case on Monday, the court had remanded the cleric for seven days after his 13-day judicial remand expired. The police also submitted a charge-sheet against Qavi to the prosecutor during the court proceedings.
Qavi also went through a polygraph test at Punjab Forensic Science Authority (PFSA) in Lahore after he was arrested.
During his incarceration, Qavi complained of chest pain and was admitted to a hospital. He also underwent angiography in the following days and was discharged later.
It merits mention here that Qavi had earlier denied any involvement in Qandeel’s murder, but the father of the deceased had said in a statement before the magistrate that his daughter was murdered on the orders of the accused cleric.
Abdul Qavi was arrested by police on October 18 after his request for an extension in pre-arrest bail application was turned down by the magistrate. On the day before his arrest, Qavi had appeared before a sessions court in connection with the murder case.
