SC to receive report in 2 or 3 days: inquiry committee

The committee says substantial evidence regarding the Sialkot lynching incident has been gathered.

SIALKOT:
An inquiry committee, formed to collect evidence on the Sialkot murder case, has completed its report, which will be submitted to the Supreme Court in two or three days, former Judge Kazim Mali said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference in Sialkot, the head of the committee said that substantial evidence regarding the incident has been gathered. He added that he is not authorised to publish the report as that decision rests with the courts.

“Statements of over a hundred people, from laymen to officials, have been recorded. There is sufficient material to reach a conclusion,” he said.

According to sources, as many as 113 people recorded their statements in front of the commission.

The former judge said that the report consists of two parts – the first dealing with circumstantial facts and the second with recommendations.

Responding to a question, he said it was completely devoid of any pressure, and clarified that he was an inquiry officer, not an investigation officer. “I have subtly dug out the incident to examine every aspect,” he said. He also disclosed that certain TV channels helped him in the process but declined to disclose their names.


Meanwhile, former Sialkot DPO Waqar Ahmed Chohan has been granted bail from the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore high court till August 30. He was detained by the Sialkot police on Monday. Chohan has been charged with negligence and for failing to stop the merciless lynching of the teenage brothers.

The murder of Hafiz Moeez Butt and Muneeb Butt, who were brutally beaten to death in the presence of a large crowd and police officials on August 15, has left the country in shock.

“You are responsible for the killings and you should have been behind bars,” Chief Justice of Pakistan warned Chohan on Thursday.

According to the FIR, Moeez and Muneeb were going to visit their relatives in village Buttar-Sialkot, when some people caught them and raised an alarm that they were bandits. The incident has led to the suspension of 14 policemen.

Sialkot police have claimed to arrest main accused Muhammad Akram and five others of Buttar village.

According to senior police officials, Akram, 33, disclosed during the preliminary investigation that he got the ropes from Rescue 1122 Daska Road station and tied up the hands, arms and legs of the two victims. AGENCIES (with additional reporting by Junaid Aftab in Sialkot)

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2010.
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