A ninth-month old baby has been taken into hiding by his Pakistani relatives after he was accused of attempted murder, one said on Tuesday, in a case that has thrown a spotlight on Pakistan's dysfunctional criminal justice system.
In a police raid to catch suspected gas thieves in the city of Lahore, Muhammad Musa Khan was one of more than 30 arrested and charged in the city of Lahore, The News website reports.
Along with his father and grandfather, Musa appeared in court in the city of Lahore last week, Reuters reported.
"Police are vindictive. Now they are trying to settle the issue on personal grounds, that's why I sent my grandson to Faisalabad for protection," the baby's grandfather, Muhammad Yasin, told Reuters, referring to a central Pakistani city.
After Musa was produced in court, Additional District and Sessions Judge Rafaqat Ali granted bail to the minor till April 12 and directed the police to "record his statement." However, Yasin isn't certain whether he will take Musa to court again.
"There is immense pressure on me from various corners," he said.
At his first appearance in court last week, Musa cried while his fingerprints were taken by a court official. Later, the baby sucked on a bottle of milk and tried to grab journalists' microphones as his grandfather spoke to the media, according to Reuters.
"He does not even know how to pick up his milk bottle properly, how can he stone the police?" Yasin asked journalists at the court last Thursday.
An assistant sub-inspector filed a complaint that Musa's whole had family beaten him up and injured his head. Following his plea, the baby was charged.
The murder charges against the baby shocked Punjab's Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif. The province's inspector-general of police has been demanded to provide an explanation.
Inspector Kashif Muhammad, who attended the alleged crime scene, has since been suspended for bringing a case of attempted murder against a nine-month-old boy and forcing the crying infant to appear in court, Agence France-Presse reported.
