PHOTO: REUTERS
PESHAWAR: The policeman nominated for torturing to death an ex-serviceman got interim-bail on Wednesday, while hearing for his bail-before-arrest has been fixed for December 8.
The Agha Mirjani police station’s suspended SHO Ebad Wazir was accused of custodial killing of Lance Naik (retd) Fida Muhammad of Frontier Constabulary (FC).
Ebad Wazir and his guard, Constable Rahat Khan applied for protective bail before arrest through Sarfaraz Khan Advocate. They appeared before Additional Sessions Judge Kulsoom Azam who granted an interim bail until next hearing on December 8.
Former SHO Ebad Wazir and Constable Rahat Khan told the court that they had arrested Fida Khan on charges of mugging.
Under oath, they said that police had not tortured Fida, rather he had died of natural causes. Fida was being questioned when his condition started deteriorating and police rushed him to Lady Reading Hospital where he died, they told court.
The plaintiff further said that he has the report of hospital doctors which proves that Fida Khan was a heart patient. Court accepted to hear the plea for bail-before-arrest.
Custodial killing
IGP Salahuddin Mehsud taking strict notice of the incident had ordered Peshawar CCPO to submit inquiry report within three days and demanded departmental action against the accused cops.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Qazi Jamilur Rehman, while taking notice of the death of a citizen during interrogation and suspended Agha Mir Jani Shah SHO Ibad Wazir and ordered registration of an FIR against those involved in negligence or any illegal action.
Subsequently, a murder case was registered against Wazir in the same precinct.
The action from the top followed a two-hour long protest on Ring Road.
Fida’s son Adnan Fida had told Daily Express that SHO Wazir and his team had hauled away his father from their home in Qazi Killay. Adnan said police pushed and dragged his father in front of womenfolk of the house. He asserted that police had raided their house without women-police.
Adnan said he went to the nearest precinct, the Faqirabad police station, but the officials there told him that police from Yakatoot area had arrested his father.
“When we reached Yakatoot areas precinct the Agha Mir Jani Shah police station people told us that Fida had died and his body was lying at LRH,” Adnan narrated his ordeal.
“My father’s body bore torture marks, his skull was hit by iron rod. Besides, the rogue policemen broke my cousin’s leg during interrogation in the same police station,” he said.
On Monday, they protested on Ring Road halting the traffic for two hours and finally got their voice heard, albeit too late for deceased Fida Khan.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2018.
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