Mansehra woman councillor accuses police of torture

Officers deny knowledge of incident, insist she was not mistreated

MANSEHRA: A woman councillor in Mansehra has accused the police of entering her house without an arrest warrant and subjecting her to torture. However, the police have denied knowledge about the incident and insist she was not mistreated.

Speaking to journalists in Mansehra on Monday, Samina Bibi a woman councillor from Ghazikot Township, said the incident occurred four days ago while she was asleep at her house.

She added over five policemen barged into her bedroom at around 2am. Samina Bibi asked them to produce an arrest warrant and demanded an explanation for their actions. However, the policemen mercilessly thrashed her and hurled obscenities at her. When the councillor attempted to resist, they tore her shirt and bit her on her arms.



According to Samina Bibi, the policemen arrested her husband and her brother-in-law Azizur Rehman, who was visiting from Karachi, even though they had not committed any crime.

Samina Bibi told journalists she arrived at City police station soon after the incident to register a complaint and enquire about her husband and brother-in-law. However, the City police refused to admit that a raid was conducted at her house.

The councillor asked them to take her to the hospital to obtain a medical report to prove she had been assaulted. However, the police refused to accompany her and she went to the hospital alone.

“I obtained a medical report to confirm the injuries and torture marks and submitted it with my complaint,” he said.

Samina Bibi said she wanted to identify the policemen who had raided her house and tortured her.

However, she was later told that the police had misplaced her complaint and have yet to register criminal cases against the policemen.



“This was done in a bid to save those who were involved in the [raid],” he added. The next day, Mangal police implicated her husband and brother-in-law for stealing a bull from a neighbouring village.

“This case is entirely fake,” she said. “The police have implicated my family because they want to pressurise me and prevent me from pursuing my case against the officials who broke into my house.”

According to Samina Bibi, the police have subjected her husband and brother-in-law to third-degree torture. “I strongly urge IGP Nasir Durrani to ensure justice is served,” he added.

The other view

When contacted, officials of the City police said they did not know about the raid on Samina Bibi’s house.

“None of our personnel or officers was involved in the raid on the women councillor’s house,” one of the officials added. “She is saying this to pressurise the police,” he said. “Her husband and brother-in-law were wanted by the police for stealing a bull and have been taken into custody.”

Names changed to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2016.