Red crescent society: Police accused of suppressing proof

Petitioners say senior cops put pressure on investigation officer.

LAHORE:

Additional District and Sessions Judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain on Thursday directed the Civil Lines senior superintendent of police (SSP) and superintendent of police (SP) for investigations to respond by February 6 to three petitions calling for an independent inquiry into the police investigation of cases against the chairman and other officials of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

Brigadier (retired) Muhammad Saleem and Nausheen Naeem have filed the petitions against the deputy inspector general (DIG), SSP, SP and investigation officer Muhammad Yousaf.

Earlier, they had lodged three FIRs against the chairman and other officials. On Monday, Civil Lines police told Additional District and Sessions Judge Chaudhry Aurangzeb that investigations had revealed the cases to be baseless.

Brig (r) Saleem had accused Chairman Zahid Bashir, Major (r) Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Nawaz, Sheikh Muhammad Ijaz, Shehzad Kauser and Syed Wasi Altaf Shah of stealing documents from the Red Crescent office. Naeem had accused Bashir of threatening her and coercing her to record a statement against his predecessor as chairman.

In the three new petitions, Saleem and Naeem said that investigator Yousaf had been put under pressure by his superiors to find the respondents not guilty.

They said that he had revealed to them that he was being pressed by the SP, who in turn was being pressed by the president of the society, Governor Sardar Latif Khosa. They said that they had given the investigator documents and evidence that he had not mentioned in the report. They said that they had informed senior police officials of their apprehensions, but had been ignored.

They asked the court to set up a board under Section 18(6) of the Police Order 2002.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2012.