Two months on: Police, PIMS’ admin fail to submit report to court

Court had directed FIA to re-investigate a case related to a female suspect and her co-accused

ISLAMABAD: It has been over two months, the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) and the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) administration have failed to submit a (fresh) report before the court in a case related to a female suspect and her co-accused against whom a faulty investigation was conducted.

The police arrested a girl and a man along with five others and seized a bottle of liquor from their possession after a raid at a house in Bahria Town in July.

According to the FIR registered against them, they were ‘drunk and dancing naked in a room while some other persons were drinking in another room’. According to the FIR, the suspects had confessed that the girl was a sex worker. The suspects were produced before court, remanded, sent to jail and later released on bail.

PIMS Deputy-Director Farrukh Kamal had also certified the female ‘virgin’ and her co-accused ‘physically fit’ without following proper procedure.

With the involvement of influential, the previous investigation officer was served a show-cause and an inquiry was initiated against him as the high-ups found ‘irregularities’ in the investigation.

Later, the investigation was transferred to DSP CIA Basheer Ahmed Noon, who reinvestigated the matter, declared the suspects innocent, dropped some sections from the FIR and prepared the ‘discharge report’ by dropping charges of prostitution and drinking against them.

The magistrate court, however, turned down the investigation report and the suspects challenged it in the high court.

During the last hearing, IHC judge Noorul Haq N Qureshi had ordered PIMS officials to carefully examine all certificates issued by the PIMS deputy director and conduct a probe and furnish fresh report before the court.

During the last hearing, when the court was informed that medical samples of the suspects had lost, the court had directed the CIA officials to submit a detailed report in this regard.

The officials were given 10 days’ time to submit the report, however, they have failed to do so even after two months, a source confirmed.

The case has been pending because of the non-submission of the fresh inquiry report.

“This is just one case which highlights the number of loopholes in the criminal justice system at different levels. Instead of finding the truth and bringing the culprits to justice, officials start patronising and protecting suspects,” Justice Qureshi had remarked during the last hearing.

The court had also observed that the doctor’s certification appeared to be an attempt to prove innocence of the suspects.

Justice Qureshi had added that the doctor was not authorised to medically examine the female suspect and he did not even adopt due course while examining the male suspect. The doctor “himself appears to be a criminal,” the court had remarked.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2015.