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Caught red-handed: ASI suspended after caught on tape demanding bribe

Officer also offered to release two suspects if mothers engaged in illicit relations with him.

Our Correspondent May 16, 2016

Officer also offered to release two suspects if mothers engaged in illicit relations with him. PHOTO: FILE

SUKKUR: Ghotki SSP suspended on Monday an ASI of the Daharki police station following the release of a video in which the official demanded a bribe from the mothers of two suspects and also offered to get their boys released if the women engage in illicit relations with him.

The SSP took notice of the leaked video, immediately suspended the investigation officer, ASI Abdul Majeed Tagar, and ordered the Mirpur Mathelo DSP to investigate the matter and report back to him. In the leaked video, the ASI is seen sitting with the suspects' mothers, initially demanding Rs300,000 to manipulate the case in their favour, and when the women refused to pay, he asked the women to engage in illicit relations with him to get their sons freed.

On June 12, 2015, Sanjay Kumar was found in an injured condition near the railway track and was shifted to the Daharki Hospital by the railway police. Kumar's family lodged a complaint with the police against Faisal Malik and Waqar Malik, who were arrested and locked up but no case was registered.

The mothers of the accused filed an application in the district and sessions court, Ghotki on June 16, stating that Faisal and Waqar have been arrested and kept in illegal detention. On June 17, a court-appointed official raided the Daharki police station and recovered both the boys and asked the SHO to appear before the court on June 18.

The SHO lodged an FIR against both the boys on June 17 and on June 22 Sanjay succumbed to his injuries in the Rahim Yar Hospital, after which police arrested Faisal and Waqar and challaned them in the court, which then remanded them into jail custody. According to reports, in the meantime, the ASI began paying visits to the family's home and pressured them to pay a bribe for their sons' release. Fed up with the officer's false promises, the family released the video to the media.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2016.