Alleged police harassment: It’s a cock-and-bull story, says Justice Osmany

Businessman accused of attempted murder petitions against police.

KARACHI: When an investigation officer (IO) was asked in court about the nature of a weapon he had allegedly seized in an attempted murder case, he replied, “I’m not an expert on weapons.”

On Friday, a division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), headed by Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, heard a petition against fake cases and police harassment.

The bench questioned the IO about the two cases, one for attempted murder and the other for the illegal possession of a weapon, against petitioner Faisal Zakriya.

The IO, SI Muhammad Ali, was grilled about the alleged incident of the attack. He said that it occurred in the outskirts of Nawabshah. According to complainant Muhammad Ameer Awan, the petitioner/accused was accompanied by another person, who fired at him, but he ducked. The bullet missed but the accused then beat him up and finally escaped on a motorcycle when two men, who were accompanying the complainant, came to his rescue.

When the court asked about the two men who were with Awan, the IO said he did not know the details of their relationship.

The IO was put in an even tighter spot when Zakrya pointed out that he did not even know the nature or kind of weapon allegedly used to fire at Awan, which the officer said he had seized.

When the IO said he was not an expert, the bench retorted: “Then what are you doing in the police force?” The court asked if he had at least sent the weapon for a ballistics test. But the IO had not.

Finding the answers ‘unbelievable’, the court ordered the Hyderabad Regional Police Officer to have the accusations investigated. The bench heard the petitioner’s lawyer Naheed Afzaal, who stated that the petitioner has no dispute with complainant Awan, a resident of Nawabshah.

The petitioner was not arrested by the IO of B Section police in Nawabshah but was forcibly removed from Karachi by MPA Tariq Masood Arain, who raided his office, maltreated him and allegedly snatched mobile phones from other people present in the office.

The arrest was made by the MPA’s private guards and the IO had accompanied him (MPA) but had been a ‘silent spectator’, alleged the counsel for the petitioner. The counsel stated that although the court had directed that the petitioner must not be harassed any more, a second case of the alleged recovery of an illegal weapon was registered against him. The younger brother, Fahad, and other family members are also being harassed, alleged the counsel.

The real dispute was over Rs1.5 million, given to the petitioner for investment in an import-export business as the petitioner works in software imports, AAG Sarwar Khan told the court, objecting to the plea by the counsel for petitioner to restrain the police from further harassment and lodging another fake case.

The court then asked the IO about the investigation, including the professions of the petitioner and complainant. At the end of the questions, the IO said that no documents were available to support the alleged investment but there were two witnesses in whose presence the money was given.

At the end of the long drilling session, Justice Osmany observed, “it is all a cock-and-bull story”. There must have been a business dispute but that does not mean that the accused should be dragged from Karachi to Nawabshah, the bench said, expressing dissatisfaction with the IO.

Published in The Express Tribune February 5^th, 2011.