DSP’s dubious chivalry lands him in hot water

Officer caught on camera beating up three naked teenagers for harassing women

KARACHI: Police authorities have initiated an inquiry against Ferozabad's deputy superintendent of police (DSP) for allegedly torturing three teenagers over their alleged involvement in harassing women in the Police Lines area in Ferozabad.

The authorities took action against DSP Yaqoob Jatt after a video went viral on social media on Thursday in which the officer can be seen brutally beating up the three friends. In the video the men are stripped naked and then beaten with sticks within the premises of the Ferozabad police station.

Karachi Additional IG Mushtaq Mahar immediately took notice of the incident and asked a DIG-level officer to conduct an inquiry against DSP Jatt after suspending him. The initial inquiry suggested that the DSP committed the crime at behest of his relative Qadees, who asked the officer to have the boys picked up.

According to Jamshed division SP Dr Rizwan Ahmed Khan, Qadees has been arrested while DSP Jatt has been suspended. A case has also been registered against Qadees.



Interestingly, the suspended DSP admitted to assaulting the teenagers, justifying the violence by saying they were teasing girls in the Police Lines area. "They [the boys] are trying to defend themselves by saying that they went to the Police Lines to buy betel nuts. Are betel nuts only being sold in Police Lines area? They are lying,” DSP Jatt told the media. “I will not spare anyone who harasses the daughters and sisters of police wallahs," he warned. Interestingly, no complaint was filed by any woman in the area of harassment.

The three youths were later identified as Usman, Haseeb and Qaiser. Their families staged protests against the incident on Thursday and Friday and demanded strict action against DSP Jatt.

The protesting families said that a case should also be registered against the DSP and other policemen involved in arresting and torturing their loved ones. They said that the police authorities attempted to save their ‘bhai’ by only registering the case against a civilian.



"They came to our homes and arrested our loved ones. They also they warned us of dire consequences when we resisted their arrests," said Ghulam Mustafa, Qaiser’s father. "We begged them to leave and shouted and screamed for help but they [plainclothes personnel] continued to beat up the boys and took them away without telling us why.”

Their families demanded that a criminal case should be registered against the DSP and other cops for torturing the youths.