Witness points finger at cop for killing friend

Police find stock of videos in Bhatti’s phone showing high-ranking officers

LAHORE: Asad Bhatti, a close friend of the missing Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Mufakhar Adeel, has told the police that the SSP killed former advocate general of Punjab Shahbaz Ahmad over a dispute that erupted between the two during a dance party.

During the investigation, Bhatti revealed that Adeel was addicted to various types of drugs including cocaine. He said the SSP had rented a house in Faisal Town for dance parties and other activities.

The investigation officers also found a stock of videos on Bhatti’s phone. These videos showed a number of high-ranking police officers and inspectors along with several prominent figures from different walks of life with Adeel in dance parties. In these videos, people were seen using drugs freely. Bhatti told the investigators that a party was held at the Faisal Town house on February 5 where a dispute occurred between Adeel and Shahbaz. The party ended early and people left.

Bhatti told the officers that when he returned to the house after Adeel called him, he saw that the SSP had killed Shahbaz. The cop asked him (Bhatti) to help dispose of the body and threatened to kill him if he refused to help him.

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Bhatti said they both dissolved Shahbaz's body parts in an acid-filled drum which was already there.

On February 7, a complaint was registered with Naseerabad police by a man named Shahzad, stating that his brother Shahbaz was abducted near his Kalma Chowk office. He told the police that Shahbaz was a former additional advocate general of Punjab.

Meanwhile, on the disappearance of Shahbaz, SSP Adeel told the DSP investigation that the missing law officer was his close friend and they both belonged to Narowal. The two men also ran an academy on partnership for the competitive exams candidates. The investigators had demanded the keys of the house on which Adeel sought time from them and provided the keys the next day. When the police searched the house, there was a foul smell of burnt meat. The neighbours told the police that there was a barbeque party at the house a few days ago. They also said that a day before the police arrived for investigation, four people brought a water tanker and washed the whole house including the utensils.

When the landlord was asked about these incidents, he told the police that Adeel had taken the house on rent on the pretext that a foreign delegation was expected for seven days and he needed a furnished house. The SSP paid Rs70,000 as rent for 10 days. All the pieces of evidence collected by police indicated the involvement of SSP Adeel in the case.

Police received a call on emergency number 15 from Adeel’s wife complaining that her husband had been missing since Tuesday 8:24pm and his mobile phone was switched off and WhatsApp was also not reachable.

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Senior police officers reached Adeel's residence. The woman told the police that Mufkhar left the house on his official vehicle in the evening for a “special mission”. Police found the vehicle parked in the vicinity of Faisal Town and started to probe the matter further with the help of the call data.

After Bhatti's statement, the police visited the house again, but there was no evidence of a body burnt or disposed of. Police said if Shahbaz's body was thrown into the acid drum, his teeth, hair, blood or any part of his body would have been present at the scene, but nothing was found there. However, the investigators believe that Adeel was directly involved in the disappearance of Shahbaz and therefore he was on the run.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2020.