‘Land grabbers murdered social worker Parveen Rehman’

JIT report says ethnic tensions behind killing, slams Sindh police’s ‘criminal negligence’

ISLAMABAD: A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has told the Supreme Court (SC) that the motive behind the killing of social worker and Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) Director Parveen Rehman was land grabbing.

"The motive behind her murder was to grab OPP office land. The accused were Pashtun and could not tolerate a Bihari lady heading a major organization in the predominantly Pashtun and Afghan area”, says the JIT final report submitted in the apex court on Tuesday.

The report also states that the JIT had found no evidence of the involvement of any tycoon in the murder, adding that she had neither named any influential person as being a threat to her nor had she been involved in a dispute with anyone except her neighbour, Raheem Swati.

In a 2011 interview given to journalist Fahad Deashmukh, she had clearly identified Raheem Swati as an extortionist and land grabber seeking to seize OPP office land, says the JIT report.

It also said that the accused arrested and currently facing trial in the case were the real culprits involved in the deceased’s murder.

The JIT also found criminal negligence by the Sindh police in the case, stating that the entire process from the registration of the case to the investigation and challaning of accused Qari Bilal had been completely flawed and demonstrated the inability, incompetence and criminal negligence of Sindh police.

The report also points out that all the initial case investigators have been taken to task and dismissed from service and a First Information Report (FIR) for distorting and damaging the evidence has been registered and they have been challaned accordingly.

As far as disciplinary action against senior officers such as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asif Ijaz and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Javed Odho is concerned, the JIT report terms that a prerogative of the Sindh Inspector General (IG) as the matter falls within his domain. It also recommends that the IG Sindh may be directed to follow the proceedings of disciplinary action against them in accordance with the law.

The report also mentions that the JIT head has claimed under oath before the Supreme Court that the investigation has been conducted without fear or favour, and says that the veracity of statements given by a large number of suspects regarding the motive behind Parveen Rehman’s murder has been scrutinized.

It further states that the IG SIndh may be directed that the accused already in jail in this case have been arrested in three interrelated cases and, therefore, there is a high degree of certainty of their possible involvement in the murder which can only be confirmed after their exhaustive investigation on remand.

“This JIT had no qualms about resolving the most difficult issues in this complex investigation over the last six long years. Its members have tried their level best to perform their duties to the utmost satisfaction of the court”, says the report.

The matter is pending in the apex court since 2014. Despite conducting dozens of hearings, the apex court’s efforts have not been successful in tracing the mastermind of this killing. Two active lawyers, Raheel Kamran Sheikh and Faisal Siddiqui, are pursuing the matter on behalf of petitioners before the apex court. Since 2014, several investigation teams have been constituted to probe the matter.

Even a judicial inquiry, conducted by a Karachi District & Sessions judge, has not been successful.

Last year, the petitioners had requested the Supreme Court to constitute a JIT comprising officials of federal agencies, a plea the court had accepted. This report is the result of the JIT’s investigation.