Harassment: Mian Mir SHO told to record petitioner’s statement

LAHORE:

The Mian Mir Colony Station House Officer (SHO) was directed by a court on Friday to record the petitioner’s statement in his plea seeking registration of an FIR against Pearl Continental hotel’s staff for harassing and threatening him.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Hussain Sial then disposed of the petition, which had been filed by Tahir Javed. The judge told police to proceed in accordance with law in case a cognizable offence was established.

Javed contended that on April 12 the Race Course SHO, six other officials, hotel’s human resources director Malik Shahzad Rafique, general manager Irshad Anjum and manager Zafar Iqbal had forcibly entered his house. He was then detained at the police station where he was beaten up and threatened with “dire consequences” for refusing to give a statement against the Collective Bargaining Agent president at the hotel.

He said that when he was released late at night, he had approached the Civil Lines superintendent to take action against the aforementioned men.
Javed said his request had been refused because “Rafique’s brother is the Lahore commissioner”.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2012.