‘Half-fry’ case: Cop moves SC against SHC’s orders to register FIR against him

SHC had ordered registration of FIR against SSP Baloch for 'half-frying' citizen

KARACHI: Larkana DIG Ifran Baloch has said that he has filed a petition in Supreme Court, challenging the Sindh High Court's (SHC) decision to register an FIR against him. He, however, welcomed the court's decision to form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the incident in which a citizen, Dr Deepak Raj, was 'half-fried' by police officials.

Half-fry and full-fry are terms used by the police to refer to the condition of suspects they come across during encounters. The former is used for a person who is injured and the latter when the person is killed during the raid.

"All allegations against me are baseless," said the DIG, who was the SSP of Hyderbad at the time of the incident. "Deepak was one of the dacoits who sustained injuries during an encounter with the local police," he added.

Briefing about the case, Baloch said that around five dacoits attempted to rob people in Tando Yousaf area of Hyderabad in April 2015 and tried to flee, when the police received information of the incident. "The encounter took place in SITE area where two dacoits were killed on the spot and two others sustained injuries," he said, adding that the deceased were identified as Zahid Khaskheli and Bilawal and the injured as Deepak Raj and Ayaz Khaskheli. Another dacoit, Saleem Pathan, managed to escape.

All the suspects, including Dr Raj had prior criminal records and were nominated in various cases of robbery, said the DIG.

"Soon after the encounter Deepak identified himself as Sharif Panhwar. Later we came to know about his real name. I wonder why the families of other the criminals who were either killed or sustained injuries with him did not make a hue and cry," he said, adding that there were cases against Dr Raj alias Sharif Panhwar and his brother, Aneel Kumar alias Mohammad Ali, in Hyderabad.

"Before this incident, a robbery FIR was registered against Deepak in 2010. He had been nominated in the FIR under section 392 and 34 of the PPC and was part of a gang that used to snatch phones and other valuables from people," he said, adding that two different inquiries conducted by DIG Javeed Alam Odho and DIG Saqib Ismail Memon had also determined that he was a criminal. "It was genuine encounter," said DIG Baloch. "The court has not heard me and decided to register FIR. I was SSP at that time. How can I go there to shoot the suspects?" he questioned.

The DIG's version raises several questions regarding the case. According to Dr Raj, he ran a private clinic in Chakra Goth, Korangi - a fact that is negated by the DIG.

During the hearing, Dr Raj had told the court that on April 16, 2015, he had gone to Hyderabad to visit relatives, when police officials shot him at a tea shop in Hyderabad's Kali Morri area. The policemen caught hold of him at the shop and shot at his legs, he recalled, adding that they kept calling him 'Shareef Panhwar'.

Four years later, the SHC ordered the registration of a case against the former Hyderabad SSP and other police officials and a JIT to investigate the incident. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2019.