ISLAMABAD -  The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday granted post-arrest bail to Umer Bilal, a co-accused in a case related to torturing and blackmailing a couple. 
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri announced the verdict which he reserved earlier in bail petition of the co-accused Umer Bilal after hearing the arguments of both the sides in a case pertaining to torturing and blackmailing a couple in sector E-11 after making their videos. 
The IHC bench granted him bail against two surety bonds worth Rs1 million each. 
Previously, the investigation officer had produced the case record before the court while petitioner’s lawyer Sher Afzal Advocate appeared before the court and adopted the stance that the videos of the incident went viral on social media. He added that the police arrested five people and registered first information report (FIR) regarding the matter. 
He said that his client had not committed any crime and he was also not present at the crime scene. The lawyer argued that his client was not even named in the FIR of the incident. 
The lawyer said that the trial court had rejected his bail petition on July 28. He said that his client was a university student and there was no chance of his escape from the trial. The lawyer prayed the court to grant his client post-arrest bail. 
He also read out contents of the first information report and its sections. He said that his client was not named in the FIR and there was also no allegation of taking ransom on him. 
However, the complainant’s lawyer said that the victim couple had mentioned the petitioner’s role in the incident during a statement before the magistrate. He contended that the accused had facilitated the crime and thus was not entitled to get relief of bail. 
The police had registered the FIR against the accused persons including Usman Mirza for torturing and blackmailing a couple after making their videos at a residence in sector E-11 in Islamabad.