Robbery case filed against man 'abducted by police'

RPO promises transparent inquiry and action based on merit

RAWALPINDI:

The Sadiqabad police station has registered a robbery case against a local petrol pump owner, Malik Adil, following an incident in which he was allegedly abducted and tortured by police officers from the Sadiqabad Police Station.

The case was filed on November 12, after the owner's brother, Muhammad Arsalan, accused four Sadiqabad police officials of kidnapping and torturing his brother. Arsalan had initially reported the incident at the Airport Police Station on November 11 and later approached the Regional Police Officer (RPO), Babar Sarfaraz Alpa, who promised a transparent inquiry and action based on merit.

According to the FIR filed by Malik Adil, who owns two private petrol stations, the incident occurred on the night of November 9-10 around 2am at his Faisal Colony petrol pump. Adil stated that a broker, Farrukh Shah, along with accomplices Muhammad Basharat, Irshad and Waseem, approached him for a petrol deal. Basharat claimed he needed 11,020 litres of petrol for a pump in Sadiqabad, agreeing to pay a commission of Rs4 per litre. The total value of the transaction was Rs2.7 million, with payment promised upon delivery at the Sadiqabad station.

Adil arranged for the petrol to be loaded onto a tanker and dispatched to Sadiqabad with driver Gul Faraz and Farrukh Shah. However, when the tanker reached Curry Road, Basharat and his accomplices allegedly intercepted the vehicle, holding the driver and Shah at gunpoint. They stole their mobile phones and drove the tanker towards Faizabad, where they transferred the petrol to another vehicle near Tarnol. The driver and Shah were then abandoned on the roadside after being tortured.

In the FIR, Adil accused Basharat and his gang of forcibly taking the petrol and subjecting the driver and Shah to abuse. The police have registered a robbery case against the suspects under Section 392 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Prior to the FIR, Muhammad Arsalan had filed an application with the Airport Police Station and made a video statement, accusing a Sadiqabad police official of extorting free petrol from his brother's pump. Arsalan claimed that when his brother, Muhammad Basharat, refused to provide free petrol, the police officer—who identified himself as a special agent to the Sadiqabad SHO—threatened to implicate him in a false case and send him to jail.

On November 10, Arsalan alleged that the same police official, accompanied by three others in plain clothes, came to Basharat's residence in Wakeel Colony, tortured him, and forcibly took him away in a vehicle. Arsalan searched for his brother at various police stations, including Sadiqabad, but was unable to locate him. He further accused the Sadiqabad police of providing no information regarding his brother's whereabouts.

Despite repeated attempts by The Express Tribune to contact the Sadiqabad SHO for comment, the officer initially did not respond to calls and later switched off his phone. A police spokesperson also failed to provide any updates.