Jailed Pakistani sisters, 11yearold girl released
AMRITSAR: Pakistan-origin Hena (11), who has been behind bars along with mother Fatima Bibi and aunt Mumtaz in Amritsar central jail for the past 11 years, was released on Thursday.
Mumtaz (38) and her elder sister Fatima Bibi ( 42) were arrested from the Samjhauta Express in May 2006 for carrying drugs and were lodged in the Amritsar Central Jail after they were given a 10-year jail sentence. Fatima was pregnant at the time of arrest and she gave birth to Hena in jail.
After they served their jail term an NGO , Sarbat Da Bhala Humanity Club, Batala, paid their Rs 2 lakh fine for them, and subsequently the Centre gave its nod to release them.
Police officials handed them over to Pakistan Rangers at the Attari interna- tional border. At the time of filing of this report, the trio was yet to cross over to Pakistan. The officials are fulfilling certain formalities at border, before handing over.
In 2006, the two, who were going to meet their maternal uncles in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, were nabbed at the Attari railway station in 2006.
The two were to undergo two-year extra imprisonment in case they did not pay Rs. 4 lakh fine the court imposed on them.
Fatima belongs to Gujranwala, while Mumtaz, who is unmarried, is a resident of Sikandarabad. Fatima had argued in the court that the 400-gram smack seized from their compartment belonged to a fellow traveller.