JIT no closer to making significant headway

The JIT did not even give a deadline to complete the investigations to LHC

LAHORE: Two weeks have passed since the formation of the Joint Investigation Team to probe the Sahiwal slayings, but there is no serious headway in the collection of evidence and fixing responsibility.

This was revealed during a press briefing on the JIT report submitted before Lahore High Court (LHC) by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Investigations Punjab Jawad Dogar and DIG Legal Punjab Sardar Abdul Rab. The conference was held at the Central Police Office (CPO) on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, DIG Jawad Dogar said that nothing has been finalized by the JIT so far. “Investigations were a complicated process and are still in progress”, he added.

He said that JIT did not even give a deadline to complete the investigations to LHC. The court ordered the team to contact eyewitnesses before February 7, collect evidence and appear before the court.

Dogar claimed that the investigations were being conducted impartially to dig out the facts and pin responsibility. He promised that the JIT will bring out the facts.

He further said that all the officers of CTD, who were related to the incident, had been removed with immediate effect so that the investigations could be conducted independently.

The JIT was investigating two FIRs –No. 02/19 registered at PS CTD Lahore and 33/19 filed in Yousafwala, Sahiwal.

“Ejaz Shah, the head of JIT has visited the crime scene many times and prepared a comprehensive map,” he shared while talking about the content of the three page report.

He said that JIT had also recorded statements of eyewitnesses; however, none of were direct witnesses of the incident. The JIT sent four empties, two slugs, the CTD vehicle used in the operation, the victim’s vehicle, blood samples preserved from the crime scene, empties from the crime scene, two suicide jackets and grenades, allegedly recovered from the victims according to the CTD, to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA).

The JIT also collected footage from toll plazas, Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PFSA), channels and the public. It also confiscated DVRs of CTD. The team took the wireless log-book used for police communication over the incident into custody. It also confirmed the marriage ceremony was taking place. They collected all possible footages from the start of the vehicle’s journey from Lahore to the site of the incident.

DIG Abdul Rab said there was nothing mentioned in the report about the nature of the IBO and participants like information sharers and officials of other agencies. There was also no mentioning or establishing victim Zeeshan’s link with terrorists.

He defended the conduct of the identification parade of six arrested police officials, terming it important evidence. “It was mandatory to establish their link with the incident”, he added. He said the FIR did not mention firing by police officials that led to the killing. To a question about the non-cooperation of the complainants with JIT, he said that they were demanding the formation of a judicial commission. However, he added that fulfilling their demand did not fall in the police’s jurisdiction.

Jawad Dogar said that the report also did not mention who ordered the CTD officials to open fire. To a question about the failures to submit the rifles used to the PFSA, he said that the arrested police officials were on judicial remand for identification parade. Once they were handed over to JIT on physical remand, the weapons will be sent to PFSA after their identification