Negligence in duty: Former SHO released hours after arrest

Supreme Court had ordered action against SHO, ASI for allegedly destroying evidence in rape case

ISLAMABAD: A former SHO who was booked on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for his negligence in investigating a rape case was released hours after his arrest on Monday.

Former Golra SHO Inspector Rana Muhammad Ashraf was arrested on Monday but was released on bail a few hours later, police sources said. Ashraf was booked for his negligence and failure to ensure proper handling of evidence in a rape case registered by the station last September.

Sajid Hussain Tirmizi, a retired army colonel, was arrested by the Golra police after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in a house in Sector G-13 on September 28.

A medical examination of the suspect and the victim was carried out the next day and a PIMS doctors handed over five samples to ASI Turabul Hassan, the investigation officer for the case, on October 13 for onward submission to the laboratory for examination. However, Hassan, instead of sending the samples to the lab, submitted them to the police station’s storage room. The samples remained there for more than 16 days ‘without
any reason’.

When the samples finally reached the lab on November 2, they were returned the same day with the objection that the blood samples had dried up. The laboratory asked the investigation officer to collect fresh samples from the suspect and the victim and submit them again, but he failed to do so.

These issues were highlighted as the Supreme Court heard bail application of the rape suspect. The victim also told the apex court that she had also handed over tissue paper containing bodily fluids which the suspect used to clean up after the assault, but they were destroyed and were never made part of the case record. The investigation officer did all this to benefit the suspect, according to the FIR.

Hassan was booked and arrested on January 20 and was released on bail the next day.

Meanwhile, the rape suspect had filed a bail plea in the Supreme Court after his bail applications were turned down by a sessions court as well as the Islamabad High Court. The plea in the SC has also been dismissed as withdrawn. He is in Adiala jail on judicial remand.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2017.