Staged encounter: ‘Suspects made witnesses to protect high ups’

Four held guilty say they are being made scapegoats, demand new investigation.

LAHORE:

An investigation team assigned to question six police men suspected of involvement in extra judicial killing on June 10 has instead made these officials witnesses in a case against their colleagues to protect some high officials, the policemen declared guilty by the inquiry officer complain.

They say there should be a fresh inquiry into the case so that all officials involved in the matter are exposed and made to answer for their role.

An inquiry by Deputy Inspector General (Police Training School) Major (retd) Mubashar Ullah had declared a deputy superintendent of police, Riasat Ali Javed, a sub inspector, Riaz Ahmed, and two constables guilty of killing a robbery suspect, Shehzad Butt, in a staged encounter.

Mubashar Ullah had recommended further investigation to establish what role SHO Naveed Akmal, Nishtar Town investigation in-charge Zulifqar Vario, Sub Inspector Akber Ali and three constables had played. He had assigned SSP (Investigations) Abdul Razzak Cheema to interrogate these officials and include their names in the challan to be sent to the court if they were found guilty.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the four officials declared guilty by Mubashar Ullah alleged that no inquiry was held against the SHO, the investigation in-charge or the three constables. They said the inquiry officers had not even examined their cell phone record.

“The challan submitted in the court has nominated these officials as witnesses against us,” the four officials declared guilty in Mubashar Ullah’s inquiry said.

SSP Cheema was has declined comment on the case.

The officials who go on trial on July 11th said that their relatives were being pressured by some senior police officers to stay quiet. They said the police officers had told their relatives that the officials would be declared innocent at an appropriate time.

The families told the Tribune they would stage protests against police authorities if the officials were made scapegoats in the case to protect their seniors.

In statements submitted to the inquiry team, SI Ahmed and the constables had maintained that a day before the staged encounter, SSP (Operations) Shoukat Abbas in a meeting had directed the policemen to not spare criminals and take extreme measures to curb crime in the city.

They said on June 10, Butt was handed over to the police on charges of shooting and injuring two men during a robbery. They said investigation in charge Zulifqar Vario and SI Ahmed had taken custody of the suspect.

They said Vario and SHO Naved Akmal were directed by the high ups to go ahead with the encounter. Following the killing, they said, a wireless message was sent saying that a criminal had been killed in a shootout while two had fled.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2011.