Rule of law: 3 policemen arrested for biased investigation

They are also accused of letting the criminal flee after arrest.

FAISALABAD:

The Batala Colony police on Tuesday arrested three police officers, including a deputy superintendent, and registered a case against them for bias in the investigation of a gang-rape case.

The action followed three inquiries conducted by the home secretary, the inspector general of police and the regional police officer after a Supreme Court bench took suo motu notice of the case.

The accused police officials, DSP Mian Khalid and Assistant Sub Inspectors Ghulam Murtaza and Ghulam Qadir of D-Type Colony police station, are also accused of letting the prime suspect flee after he had been arrested.

The victim had told the court that despite several requests the police did not registered an FIR. She said the case was finally registered after an additional district and sessions judge took notice of it. However, she later complained that the police were partial and had shown no interest in the investigation of the case.

The Supreme Court taking notice of the case in first week of March 2012 reprimanded the City Police Officer Bilal Siddique Kamyana and other supervisory officers. The court also ordered a departmental inquiry into the allegations and ordered the police to arrest Asghar Ali, the main suspect within three days. Ali was finally arrested from Sindh a few days later.

The departmental inquiry revealed that the accused police officials had been biased in their handling of the case. They were then suspended and issued show cause notices.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2012.