Prisoner’s Torture Claim : Judge issues notice to SHO for May 12

An additional district and sessions judge on Saturday issued notice to the station house officer concerned for May 12 seeking his comments on a petition by a prisoner seeking a torture case against a jail superintendent and a deputy superintendent. Complainant Dr Faheem Raza claims that he was tortured by jail officials after he made a fuss upon discovering parts of a human hand in his food. He filed a petition in AD&SJ Muhammad Musharraf Hassan Sumra’s court asking that the SHO concerned be directed to register a criminal case against the jail officials.  Raza had filed this application last month as well. On that occasion, the judge had directed him to take his application to the SHO concerned along with a medical certificate of his injuries allegedly caused by torture.  Raza says that after he refused to stay quiet about the fingers he had found in the jail food, he was drugged, deprived of food and sleep for several days, and his toenails were pulled out with pliers.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2011.