An inquiry was ordered on Friday into the incident of torture of an in-custody suspect by the Assistant Superintendent of Police Faisal Bashir Memon. Talking to The Express Tribune, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Wajid Ali Durrani said he had taken serious notice of the incident and if found guilty the ASP would be severely punished.
However, the inquiry was bound to result in a favourable outcome for the ASP as Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Bani Amin has been appointed as the head of the probe committee. This was the concern of the applicants who had earlier filed an application over the issue.
The applicant, Azam Khan, who is the brother of the suspect, maintained that it was DIG Bani Amin who had pressurised the police to register a fake FIR against Muhammad Tariq Tanoli. “Bani Amin had ordered the ASP to torture my brother in front of the complainant,” said Khan, claiming he had received the information from credible sources.
He said ASP Memon had gone ahead with the torture in a case of bogus cheque despite the fact that police could not prove Tanoli’s involvement. Investigation officer, Khan said, had informed him that the police had not found any evidence of his brother’s involvement.
“The ASP told the investigation officer that he would extract evidence out of Tanoli even if it was not there, because he had been directed by DIG Bani Amin,” said Khan, who claimed to be a witness to this conversation during his visit to his brother in the lockup.
However, IGP Durrani said that he had not received any complaint against DIG Bani Amin. “I took action on a news item. I have not received any formal complaint or application from the victim’s family which would enable me to take appropriate action,” said Durrani.
He said if the family had any complaints against the DIG they could file an application to him and it would be taken into consideration.
Durrani said, “The DIG has been instructed to hold an inquiry into the incident and the report is expected within two to three days after which action will be taken.”
Tanoli, the suspect, was allegedly implicated in a false case of bogus cheque which was not registered directly against him. The case was registered against Muhammad Arif Hussain who had given the cheque that bounced.
However, Hussain died days after issuing the cheque. The only claim against Tanoli over here was that he was an acquaintance of Hussain, said Khan.
His family maintained that Tanoli had nothing to do with the deal between the complainant and Hussain. “It was their business and Tanoli had nothing to do with the cheque or the money,” said Khan.
Tanoli was sent to jail on judicial remand following an order by the magistrate for his medical examination. The medical examiner told The Express Tribune that there were wounds on Tanoli’s body.
The medical report was handed over to the police. However, family members said they feared that the report might be altered by the police officials.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 03rd, 2011
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