Fake encounter suspects released in Rawalpindi

Police allegedly planted drugs in suspects’ car, court issues release orders

RAWALPINDI:

Two suspects in a Rawalpindi police encounter incident were released as an Additional and Sessions Court declared the incident dubious on the basis of inadequate evidence, a spokesperson shared on Sunday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Mureed Abbas acquitted two suspects Ibrahim and Sherbaz Khan. Advocate Amjad Khan, who represented the suspects, said that Bani Police booked both his clients on unreasonable grounds, adding that the police registered a fake encounter case against his clients.

He stated that the police alleged the suspects had wounded an officer during in a crossfire. However, the medical report refuted the police’s claims as it was declared that the officers wounds were not attributed to gunshots.

The counsel pleaded the court to acquit both suspects as they were framed in a fake case. After the conclusion of the arguments, the bench ordered the release of both suspects over lack of evidence.

Read More: Cop awarded death penalty for 2018 fake encounter in Karachi

Convicts win case in appeal

The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench voided sentences of two suspects in a drug smuggling case over fake testimonies.

A two-member divisional bench, comprising Justice Shehbaz Ali Rizvi and Justice Sadiq Mehmood, presided over a case pertaining to the smuggling of 10 kilogrammes (kgs) of drugs. Both suspects had been convicted by a lower court and each was awarded a 66-month long sentence and a fine worth Rs200,000.

Defence lawyer Advocate Amjad Khan said that Talagang police booked Salman and Hameed while they were driving in their car and alleged that the police planted drugs in their vehicle. He further stated that there were contradictions in the testimonies of the prosecutor’s witnesses.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2021.