SHC summons Rangers’ DG, Sindh IGP on widow’s complaint

Petitioner claims unwarranted raids by law-enforcement agencies


Our Correspondent January 04, 2019
Sindh High Court. PHOTO: EXPRESS

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) summoned on Thursday the Rangers’ Director-General (DG), Sindh inspector-general of police and other respondents on a complaint filed by the widow of a martyred policeman alleging that law enforcement agencies (LEAs) raided her house without any search warrant.

The petitioner, Shahnaz, informed the court that LEAs have carried out four raids at her house since 2018 and have been asking for the whereabouts of her two sons, Shahzad alias Sajju and Sheeraz alias Sajjay. She maintained that she should be informed if there are any cases registered against her sons who work at a garments company.

She said that her husband was martyred during an encounter in 2012. Shahnaz informed the court that despite her applications to the Rangers’ director-general, Sindh chief minister, Sindh governor and Sindh police, no inquiry has been ordered yet. The petitioner pleaded that the LEAs should be stopped from conducting such raids at her house.

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Fake encounter

The SHC sought arguments on the maintainability of the application from the petitioner’s counsel on a plea pertaining to the death of one person and the disappearance of another in an alleged police encounter at Sohrab Goth.

A two-member bench was hearing a request to make the case filed against police officials an A Class case. The petitioner’s lawyer maintained that former Malir SSP Rao Anwar’s team took Saadullah and Zafarullah into custody on February 16, 2016. The lawyer said that Saadullah was killed in a fake police encounter in March and the police asked for Rs10 million to release Zafarullah. The police have not produced Zafarullah as yet due to the non-payment, he said, adding that the Zafarullah’s mother passed away due to grief over her son’s disappearance.

The court remarked that justice will surely be served but first it must be ascertained if a closed case can be reopened. The court sought arguments from the petitioner’s counsel on the maintainability of the petition.

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Missing women

SHC expressed annoyance on Thursday over the non-recovery of a woman and her three daughters and directed the police to present the women before the court by January 17.

Justice Khadim Hussain Tunio heard the case pertaining to the four missing women.

The petitioner maintained that a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official, Shahbaz, had kidnapped his wife and three daughters.

SSP Pir Muhammad Shah appeared before the court. The police submitted a report in court which stated that the woman had gotten a divorce from her husband and her three daughters had also refused to live with their father.

An FIA official informed the court that the women had been called in for an inquiry but they went missing after the inquiry. He said the FIA was unaware of the whereabouts of these women.

With additional reporting from PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2019.

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