Face off: Police beaten up for arresting lawyer’s kin

Former Young Lawyers Forum president says cops started the fight.

LAHORE:

Four police officials were beaten up on Friday, allegedly by a group of lawyers associated with the Young Lawyers Forum, in front of a court room for arresting a nephew of a colleague on charges of motorcycle theft.

Assistant Sub Inspector of the Shahdara police station, Abdul Hafeez, told The Express Tribune that he was detained at the bar room and beaten up on his refusal to sign a statement that he had arrested Sarfaraz, a theft suspect, from Manawala (that does not fall in the jurisdiction of Shahdara police) and not from Begam Kot.

Former YLF president Dilshad Ahmed Bhatti, on whose plea Sarfaraz was produced before the court and later released on bail, said lawyers did not start the fight. He said police men – ASI Abdul Hafeez and Sub Inspectors Muhammad Zahoor, Muhammad Sarfraz and Muhammad Munawar – tried to arrest Sarfaraz after he had been released on bail by Additional District and Sessions Judge Mahrukh Aziz Tarar. He said police officials attacked the lawyers when the latter resisted their attempt to arrest Sarfaraz.

A meeting between DIG (Operations) Ghulam Muhammad Dogar, SSP (Operations) Muhammad Shaukat and several Lahore Bar Association representatives was later held at the chamber of District and Sessions Judge Mujahid Mustaqeem to settle the matter. An official said the parties decided to investigate the matter separately and punish the guilty. An LBA official, however, said that it was decided that no action would be taken in the matter.

LBA General Secretary Rana Intizar said Bar’s investigations had revealed that Sarfaraz was being unfairly implicated.

He said lawyers would take to streets if there was police action against any of their colleagues.

DSP (Islampura) Shakeel Ahmed Khokhar earlier told the Tribune that closed circuit tv (CCTV) footage would be used to fix responsibility in the matter. DSP Khokhar said a case would be lodged against the lawyers if they were found guilty. He said action would similarly be taken against policemen if they were found to have started the clash.

ASI Hafeez said that he and SI Zahoor had just stepped out of the court room when a lawyer approached them and inquired about the case. He said a minute later at least 14 more lawyers approached them and started beating him and SI Zahoor.

The ASI said the lawyers also attacked SIs Sarfraz and Munawar who had tried to prevent a brawl.

ASI Hafeez said one of the lawyers dragged him to a side and took him to the Bar room.

“A number of lawyers were already present. They locked the door as soon as I was pushed in and started beating me,” he said.

The ASI said lawyers told him to sign a statement that he had arrested Sarfaraz from Manawala and not from Begam Kot in Shahdara. On his refusal, he said, they beat him again. He said they released him after two hours.

Sarfaraz was presented in the court after he was recovered from Shahdara police station on Friday by a court bailiff. The bailiff was appointed following a petition filed by Advocate Dilshad Ahmed Bhatti.

He was arrested by Shahdara police on Thursday on charges of stealing a motorcycle from Begam Kot.



Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2011.