‘Man’s death in custody’: IO contests charges against policemen

Magistrate summons complainant’s witnesses tomorrow

RAWALPINDI: An investigation officer on Monday informed a court that murder charges against four policemen were unfounded.

Homicide Investigation Unit (HIU) Sub-Inspector Arif Hussain told Judicial Magistrate Janzeb Aman Hafeez that charges against Saddar Bairuni Police Station SHO Inspector Yar Muhammad, Assistant Sub-inspectors Raja Ammad, Khalil Bhatti and Jahangir Bhatti for their involvement in killing of a man in custody could not be proved and they were unsubstantiated.

The police officer said that a complete ‘discharge report’ was pending with the DSP office and would soon be submitted before the court. Sabiha Bibi, the wife of Abdul Haq, had moved the court alleging that the Saddar Bairuni police arrested her husband on June 6, 2015, falsely implicating him in a robbery case and tortured him to death in custody. She had alleged that the police staged a ‘fake encounter’ on Girja Road on July 3, 2015 and killed her husband to cover the murder in custody.

Bibi had moved the court for arrest of the four police officials alleging that they were responsible for the killing of her husband in their custody.

Avocate Qaisar Shah, representing the complainant, told The Express Tribune that today the police informed the court that Sabiha’s allegations against the policemen were ‘baseless’. He, however, said the magistrate has summoned his client’s witnesses for May 4 when her application would be taken up.

He said that the widow has filed an application with the magistrate seeking exhumation of the body of her husband for a detailed postmortem.

He said that according to Bibi, she had changed the clothes of her husband after the body was brought home from hospital and according to her, different bones of Haq were broken.

The lawyer said that Mohibullah, the brother of the deceased, had washed the body of the deceased and he has also confirmed torture marks.

Advocate Shah said that Haq had sustained 11 bullets and all bullets were shot from his back. He said that they have prayed the magistrate to order for formation of a medical board for a fresh postmortem after exhumation of the body.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2016.