Flawed investigations keep victims from justice

Prolonged delays deepen the suffering of grieving families

PESHAWAR:

In November last year, 22-year-old Kanwal, a pregnant woman from Peshawar, was allegedly found hanging from a fan at home. While the in-laws of the deceased girl initially framed the case to be of suicide, the girl's parents accused the husband and waited for the post-mortem report. The police however, had put the case under the Section 174 inquiry, which only meant that the victim's family would remain stranded at the door of justice.

The victim's father, Jehanzaib, told The Express Tribune that, as a poor family, they had to plead persistently to seek justice. "Even though an FIR was registered, the weak investigation procedures prevented the accused from getting a serious punishment. In our society, the oppressed not only endure cruelty but also have to struggle tirelessly for justice," cried Jehanzaib, while speaking of his son-in-law, who was released after a few court appearances.

This is just one example of cases of gender-based violence undergoing weak investigations under Section 174, which is invoked to prevent murder cases from being labelled as suicide. Earlier this year, another case in Peshawar involved a man who tortured his pregnant wife to death. Yet the pregnancy was not even mentioned in the FIR. Similarly, in Nowshera, a husband attempted to kill his pregnant wife by dousing her with petrol and setting her on fire. The victim was transferred to Peshawar's burns unit, where she continues to fight for her life.

According to information received by the Express Tribune from the investigation department of K-P Police, 27 cases under Section 174 are currently pending in Peshawar, while more than a hundred others are pending across the province.

Shabbir Hussain Gigiani, Senior Advocate at the Peshawar High Court, revealed that it was not necessary to invoke Section 174 in a criminal case. "Section 174 is invoked only in specific types of crimes and in special conditions. However, in K-P, cases of rape, harassment, and pregnant women's deaths are investigated by the same officers who handle narcotics, kidnappings for ransom, and routine crimes. There should be a separate team in each district for such cases, including a forensic officer, a medical officer, a technical expert, and a legal expert. Only then can inquiries, investigations, and FIRs under Section 174 be properly handled to ensure justice," opined Gigiani.

"If evidence collection and investigation are strong from the beginning, the chances of convicting the accused increase significantly. On the other hand, weak investigations result in a lower probability of conviction. Section 174 has been part of the legal system since the British era to prevent murders from being disguised as suicides. However, in practice, delays in inquiries under Section 174 often benefit the accused. The longer an FIR takes to be registered, the weaker the case becomes," said Ali Gohar Advocate, a human rights lawyer at the Peshawar High Court.

Dr Anoosh Khan, Professor of Gender Studies at the University of Peshawar, highlighted the fact that specific barriers prevented women from reporting gender-based violence. "In many places, women cannot file an FIR. Furthermore, women police officers and personnel in K-P do not even have the authority to register an FIR, for which they have to go to the nearest police station. Hence, female victims are further victimized by the criminal justice system," informed Dr Khan.

K-P's new police chief, IGP Zulfiqar Hameed, also acknowledged these shortcomings. In an informal discussion with The Express Tribune, he stated that the investigation department was the backbone of the police force and needed significant improvements. The provincial police's investigation department, however, cited excessive caseloads and staff shortages as the main reasons for inefficiency. The department claims that Peshawar alone has a shortage of 800 personnel across 34 police stations. Each investigation officer is responsible for handling over 100 cases per month. The same officer has to visit crime scenes, appear in court, and interrogate suspects, yet they lack proper funding for investigations or even fuel allowances.