50 petitions: Rangers, police blame each other over missing people

Court displeased with lack of coordination, sharing of information.

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court heard 50 petitions on illegal detentions of citizens from Karachi right through to 5pm on Wednesday and commented on how a lack of coordination between the Rangers and police benefited criminals.

If there is no coordination on raids, arrests, handing the people over to the police for trial, it would defeat the purpose for which the Rangers have been authorised to control law and order, observed the bench of Chief Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh.

Some of the petitions were about people who went missing after Rangers raids in Orangi Town. The hearing was held in two sessions, once in the morning and another in the evening.

Eleven petitions were closed on Wednesday as either the missing person reached home or was declared to be arrested and in custody after being booked by different police stations. The remaining 39 petitions were put off to different dates, mostly December 13.

A lieutenant colonel of the Sachal Rangers submitted comments in a petition challenging the detention of Muhammad Suleman, Peerzada, Mohammad Tahir, Ayaz Khan, Bareen Khan, Farhanullah and Bakhmali Khan, denying that they were in their custody.

The bench observed that it had directed that information must be furnished on the total number of people arrested during a crackdown in Iqbal Nagar, Quarry Colony, Manghopir, on December 7 and 8, 2010.

An officer from the Rangers legal department, who was in court after being served notice, stated that the Rangers were available as back-up support and if there were any arrests, they were made by the police and not the Rangers.

“If that be the case, let the Rangers file details of the police stations,” the bench said.

To a query, Peerabad SI Jameel Akhtar denied that any arrested people were handed over to the police. He said that the arrests were made by the Rangers. “It is certainly a matter of concern for the court that the Rangers, being back-up service providers, are supposed to coordinate with the police and provide all forensic evidence, material and information on the arrest or otherwise... as such lacunae have always been exploited to their benefit by the criminals,” said the court. This thwarts the very reason under which the Rangers were authorised to control law and order. This must be brought to the notice of the home secretary and interior secretary so they steamline and regulate the mechanism for Rangers raids and how the people will be handed over to the police station.

The bench directed the Rangers to file a report with details of the December 7 raid with the number of arrests made and a statement on oath whether these people were handed over to the police and on what date.

In an identical petition for Siddique Masood from Iqbal Nagar, Major Wali of the Rangers 41 Sachal Wing filed an affidavit, denying that he was detained by them.

To a query, the Peerabad SHO said that they had written a number of letters to the Rangers, seeking information about the missing man but they received no response.

Irked by the answer, the bench directed the Rangers representative to ensure that if they receive any request from any law enforcing agency for information it should be answered and not treated as a routine matter.

The bench asked the police to submit the letters to the Rangers.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2011.