Murky affair: Plea seeking FIR against police, doctors disposed of

Petitioner said they were in cahoots with the woman who killed his child

LAHORE: An additional district and sessions judge on Wednesday disposed of a petition seeking the registration of a case against two policemen who had refused to register a murder case. The petitioner had also asked the court to order registration of an FIR against the Mayo Hospital medical superintendent, a nurse and two doctors who allegedly falsified the name of the deceased child’s father.

Petitioner Muhammad Akmal had filed the plea seeking registration of an FIR against Shahdara Town SHO Ishtiaq Butt and ASI Javed Akhtar for refusing to register a murder case against his neighbour Yasmeen. Akmal had accused Yasmeen of killing his child by throwing boiling milk at him, but the police had registered a case against her under Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code (manslaughter) instead of Section 302 (premeditated murder).  Akmal had also accused the Mayo Hospital MS, Dr Masood, Dr Qasim and nurse Nazia of getting a bribe from Yasmeen and not writing his name as the child’s father on the death certificate.

He said on February 6, 2015, Yasmeen had got into an argument with his wife and had threatened to kill their child. He said that she had later thrown boiling milk at the child and injured him. He said they had taken the child to Mayo Hospital where he had succumbed to the injuries. Akmal said that his wife had suffered depression and died a few days later.

He said that he had visited police and asked them to register a murder case against Yasmeen, however, the police had made it out to be an accident. Akmal accused the police of taking a bribe from Yasmeen.

He also accused the doctors of taking a bribe. Akmal said when he asked them for the child’s records, they claimed that they were not available.

Shahdra police submitted that the child had been playing near the stove where the milk was being boiled. The police said no one had thrown the milk at the child.

The judge disposed of the petition and told the petitioner to approach an appropriate forum. The judge said in his order that it was a settled principle of law that an ex-officio justice of peace could make an observation with regard to nature of offence or addition or deletion of a penal provision as the matter falls in the domain of the investigating officer before the submission of challan and later the trial court.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2015.