Abbottabad: Peshawar High Court Grants Bail to Three Suspects in 4-Year-Old Ayat Noor Murder Case

Abbottabad: The Abbottabad Bench of the Peshawar High Court has granted bail to all three suspects arrested in connection with the murder case of 4-year-old Ayat Noor in Haripur.
Court Decision
Justice Tariq Afridi approved the bail applications of the three suspects — Usman, Qasim and Talha — against surety bonds of Rs. 100,000 each and ordered their release.
Grounds for Bail
The court granted bail on the grounds that sufficient concrete evidence had not been presented against the suspects. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the case was unable to produce enough evidence establishing the arrested suspects' direct involvement in the murder.
Defence Lawyers' Position
The suspects were represented by Atif Khan Jadoon, Advocate Supreme Court, along with his team, including Abdul Wahab, Shayan Khan and Muhammad Sharjeel.
The defence counsel told the court that the police had conducted a re-investigation and that the three suspects had subsequently been declared innocent and placed in Column B of the case.
Background
Ayat Noor went missing on August 10 while playing in the Pathan Colony area of Haripur. After a 15-day search, her body was recovered from a well located inside a warehouse on University Road.
Police initially arrested three suspects during the investigation. However, following a subsequent investigation by a new team, the suspects were declared innocent.
Important Note
The granting of bail to the three suspects does not amount to their final acquittal in the case. Further legal proceedings and investigative processes will continue.