‘Police using cognisable offence excuse to protect SI’

Sherakot SHO was asked to investigate murder, robbery charges against SI.

LAHORE:

Sherakot police are not registering an FIR and investigating allegations against a sub inspector and his accomplices on court orders to protect them from a trial, said criminal law expert Advocate Aftab Bajwa.

He was talking with reference to a Lahore High Court verdict of May 10 directing Sherakot station house officer Muhammad Raza to investigate murder and robbery allegations against sub inspector Amanat Ali, Israul Haq and an unidentified man. The LHC had dismissed SI Ali and Haq’s challenge to a sessions’ court ruling in the complaint filed by Malik Muhammad Ashraf accusing them and an unidentified man of breaking into his house, beating up his mother and taking away Rs20,000 on August 16. Ashraf had said his mother died later that day at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

The sessions court had earlier directed SHO Muhammad Raza to receive Ashraf’s complaint, record the statements of both parties and take further action if a cognisable offence had been committed. Ashraf had asked the court to direct the SHO to register a robbery and murder case under sections 302,392,452 and 34 of the PPC.

Talking to The Express Tribune, SHO Muhammad Raza said no cognisable offence was found in the case so no action could be taken against the accused police official and the two others. He said the charges were false and Ashraf was implicating the SI.

Advocate Bajwa, however, said that it was common for police to defend their colleagues in this manner. He said the courts could not monitor investigations. This, he said, left the investigating officer at liberty to decide whether a cognizable offence had occurred. He said murder and robbery clearly were cognizable offences.

Petitioner’s counsel Rai Khalid Pervez Waseem said that before the raid, Haq had on March 3, 2010, and April 26, 2010, registered two FIRs (under Sections 406 and 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code) against his client on fabricated charges. He said Ashraf was declared an absconder in the second case because he could not appear before a court as he was already in police custody in the first case. He said he was later released on bail.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 29^th, 2011.