Supreme Court: Judge sees flaws in investigation

Court heard an appeal by Fatima who sought cancellation of the bail granted to two men accused of killing her son.

LAHORE:

Taking notice of faulty investigation by the police in a double murder case, the Supreme Court on Friday summoned the advocate general (AG) and inspector general of police (IGP) on April 11. The court was hearing an appeal by one Fatima who sought cancellation of the bail granted to two men accused of killing her son and another relative. The petitioner submitted that Mudassar and Shams Tabraiz had killed her son Adil and a relative Shafqat. A Gujranwala trial court had granted bail to the accused and the Lahore High Court had also upheld the decision.

Justice Jawwad S Khawaja examined the police record and found serious discrepancies and failings on the part of the investigating officer (IO). The judge noted that the IO appeared to have deliberately destroyed the case by not collecting even the basic evidence from the crime scene.

Even a casual reading of the investigation report revealed that the police had favoured the accused, the judge said. The court adjourned the hearing till April 11 and summoned the AG and the IGP.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2012.