IHC orders IGP to probe former SHO

Court observes that officer took action after it had made splash in media, higher courts took notice

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday delivered a scathing indictment of the police and the wider criminal justice system, which it said had failed to protect the weakest in society from injustice.

Deciding a review petition filed by the former additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Raja Khurram Ali Khan and his wife Maheen Zafar in the case of torturing a juvenile housemaid, the court observed that inspector Khalid Mehmood Awan, who was heading the Industrial Area police station at the time, had failed to take action when he first received information about the torture on December 28, 2016.

“He [the SHO] also candidly admitted having received the heart-wrenching photographs of an injured child on the same day but he did not fulfil his obligations by putting the legal process into motion,” read the 46-page court judgment released on Monday.

The two-member bench of the high court observed that the police inspector, it appears, only moved to recover the injured child from the judge’s house the following day after the courts had ordered an inquiry and the wide publicity of the issue on social and electronic media.

The judgment noted that the officer first called the judge in question and then picked up the child.

Even after recovering the injured child, who required immediate medical assistance, the court noted that the police officer instead chose to shift her to an undisclosed location where her video statement was recorded.

Even while recording the child’s video statement, she was constantly interrupted and asked leading questions which, the court observed, seemed to be an attempt to achieve desired results favouring the accused.

“The traumatised, battered and frightened child was asked leading questions and the interjections by some lady made it obvious that desired results favouring the appellants were intended to be obtained,” the court noted.

The inspector, who is currently posted at the Kohsar Police Station as its station house officer, then accompanied the child to the hospital where, in his presence, the child repeated the statement which she had recorded just a little while earlier.

But when the child appeared before a female magistrate, Nisha Ishtiak, she narrated a different set of facts.

The court further lamented that the system only started working after the courts took notice and it made a splash on the media.

“If rule of law is to prevail and the criminal justice system is to be made responsive to the weak and against alleged offences committed by the stronger and privileged segments of the society then even the slightest dereliction of duty by officials inevitably has to be dealt with sternly,” the court said and recommended a probe against inspector Awan.

“The role of Khalid Mehmood Awan in, prima facie, attempting to subvert the course of justice is evident from the CD [of Tayyaba’s video recording] which requires thorough probe.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2018.