Extra judicial killings: IGP asked for report on all police encounters since 2010

LHC chief justice voices reservation over appointment of present CCPO.

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice (CJ) on directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to file a report on all killings in shootouts and criminals since 2010 and constitute a committee to verify the facts.

The CJ was holding a suo motu hearing over Shahbaz Butt’s alleged murder by some policemen in a fake shootout in Nishtar Colony on Friday. Chief secretary, home secretary and inspector general of police appeared before the court.

Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry observed that incidents like Kharotabad and Karachi would not be allowed in Punjab.

The chief justice said that the police could not be allowed to carry out extra judicial killings. He said that the extra judicial killings in Kharotabad, Karachi and Lahore had caused great horror and sense of insecurity among the people.

The CJ also expressed reservations over the appointment of Ahmed Raza Tahir as the capital city police officer (CCPO) in Lahore and said that his statements had caused anxiety among the citizens.

“I do not want to remove the CCPO but the government should not overlook his record,” the CJ remarked. If the police did not stop fake encounters, real encounters will lose their credibility, he said.

Justice Chaudhry said that the Nishtar Colony incident had heightened public’s apprehensions about the CCPO.

IGP Javed Iqbal informed the court that four police officials including a deputy superintendent of police had been arrested after the victim’s father registered an FIR.

The chief secretary said that the court could constitute a judicial commission to probe the matter. The chief justice, however, said that there was no need to form a commission since the accused were in police custody and the investigation was in progress.

The CJ directed the IGP to conclude the investigation within 15 days and submit the challan of the accused police officials before the trial court. He also directed the court to conclude the trial within a month.

The hearing was adjourned till June 30.

‘Fake’ encounter: Suspects remanded for six days

Four police officials accused of killing a man in a fake encounter were remanded into police custody for six days on Tuesday.

Nishtar Colony police earlier sought custody of the accused officials – DSP Riasat Bajwa, Sub Inspector Muhammad Riaz and Constables Abdul Qadir and Muhammad Asif – for 10 days to complete their investigations. Judicial Magistrate Naeem Abass, however, granted a six-day remand and adjourned the hearing.

‘Extra-judicial killings intolerable’

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ahmad Raza Tahir has said that extra-judicial killings in fake encounters will not be tolerated. He was speaking to a delegation of citizens at the police headquarters on Tuesday. Tahir said strict punishments would be given to police officials found guilty of killing innocent people. He said the police were not ‘anti-citizens’. He stressed the need to create an impression that the police were the guarantor of citizens’ life and property.  Tahir said cooperation of the citizens was essential for the police to eliminate crime from the city.



Published in The Express Tribune, June 15th, 2011.