Ex-cop maimed, forced to beg

Pindi police arrest four suspects, reunite victim with family

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi police have rescued a former policeman, crippled and coerced into begging by a brutal gang for seven years. According to a spokesperson for the police, the operation resulted in the arrest of four gang members, including three women.

The arrested gang members stand accused of maiming the ex-policeman through abduction and compelling him into begging for a prolonged period.

The rescued victim, Mustaqim Khalid, was freed from the clutches of the beggar gang by the Civil Lines police station. Mustaqim Khalid, who had served in the Rawalpindi police from 2006 until his dismissal in 2011 due to prolonged absences, fell victim to the beggar gang in 2016. The gang, consisting of two sisters, Samina and Maryam, and their brother Wahid, allegedly abducted and physically harmed Khalid, forcing him into a seven-year-long begging ordeal.

The gang, originally from Sindh, is known for targeting minor mental patients, mutilating them, and coercing them into begging.

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According to police sources, Mustaqim Khalid went missing in 2016 and was discovered in the Dheri Hassanabad region, where the gang had engaged him in begging. The police, following an initial investigation, took custody of the three female gang members along with their brother.

The mother of the former policeman, Shaheen Akhtar, a resident of Kallar Syedan, reported that Mustaqim, who had suffered from typhoid in 2010 and faced mental health issues, disappeared in 2016. Despite extensive searches, he was not found until December 19, 2023, when his mother unexpectedly encountered him begging in a disabled state near Tahli Mohri in Rawalpindi.

The Civil Lines police station registered a case against the arrested suspects based on the complaint filed by Mustaqim Khalid's mother. Of the five accused, four have been apprehended, while the rescued ex-policeman has been reunited with his family.

City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani affirmed that the arrested individuals would face legal consequences supported by substantial evidence, and further arrests within the gang were anticipated. The gang members were condemned for their inhumane actions, maiming a mentally challenged person and forcing him into a life of begging.

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A police spokesman stated that the accused would be presented in the local court to obtain physical remand, and additional revelations were anticipated as the investigation progressed.

Man sentenced to death

A man was sentenced to death for killing his mother over a property dispute while another two were sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a man and a woman by two district and sessions courts in Rawalpindi.

A Gujjar Khan additional district and sessions judge sentenced a convict named Nazabat Ali to death, along with a fine of Rs0.5 million, for fatally shooting his mother, Parveen Akhtar, during a fit of rage over a property dispute.

The court ruled that Ali should be hanged until death for this heinous crime. In a separate case, a convict named Waqas Ahmed was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs0.5 million by Additional District and Sessions Judge Irfan Akram. Ahmed was found guilty of fatally shooting his wife, Madiha Bibi, amid domestic strife in the jurisdiction of Taxila police station.

The court noted that Ahmed had a history of abusing and tormenting his wife, and when she protested, he resorted to violence. Furthermore, Aamir Muneer, convicted of shooting and killing Sajid Yaseen over a minor dispute was also sentenced to life imprisonment.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2023.