Court orders action against US mission's driver

Court orders police to impound vehicle that ran over Ibadur Rehman and record his brother's statement.

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the Punjab police to take “strict action against the US consulate vehicle and the driver concerned” for crushing Lahore resident Ibadul Rahman to death.

The order was issued by Chief Justice of the LHC Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry on Friday on a petition filed by Ijazul Rehman, the brother of the deceased, seeking free and fair investigation.

The petitioner had also urged the court to order the police to arrest the accused and impound the US consulates vehicle involved in the incident.

The chief justice observed that no such orders (for  impounding the vehicle and arrest of the driver) could be issued in view of the sensitivity of the matter.

The chief justice summoned an assistant advocate-general and directed him to ensure compliance of the order.

Disposing of the petition, the chief justice’s written order said: “It is duty of the police to investigate the case in a fair and impartial manner joining both the parties and to bring on record and consider evidence which they wish to rely on.”

He added: “The investigation is directed to record the statements of the complainant (Ijazul Rehman) and eyewitnesses, provided that the investigation of the case has not so far been completed, and proceed with the matter in accordance with the law.”

The petitioner said on February 27, he was going towards Jail Road along with his brother Sajjadul Rehman on a motorbike. He said his brother Ibadul Rehman was riding on the other bike. He said a Land Cruiser with two foreigners, including a driver, hit Ibad’s bike from the front in violation of traffic rules, killing him instantly. He said that the accused “deliberately hit his brother, with an intention to kill him. After killing him, the accused drove away the vehicle”.

He said the Lytton Road police had registered an FIR but so far no progress in connection with tracing out the accused or taking the vehicle into police custody had been made. He also complained that the police was not registering his or other eyewitnesses’ statements.

The petitioner’s counsel, Asad Manzoor, submitted that the police were deliberately delaying the arrest or identification of the accused. He said the vehicle used in the incident was parked inside the US consulate and the police should be ordered to impound it and arrest the accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2011.