Dera Sehgal: ‘Use of live ammunition was uncalled for’
Victim’s brothers’ statements blaming police not properly investigated: HRCP.
LAHORE:
The use of live ammunition by police against protesters from Dera Sehgal Farms on May 16 appears to have been uncalled for, a Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report released on Friday says.
An HRCP fact-finding team had visited Muridke last month to investigate police action on May 16 to disperse tenants protesting at the arrest of four fellow workers from Dera Sehgal Farms earlier in the day. A passerby was shot and killed during the commotion while a policeman injured in the violence died a fortnight later.
The team was told that about 50 unarmed tenants had assembled on GT Road in Muridke to protest the arrest of four fellow villagers.
It was told that the police had agreed to release the four men who appeared to have been denied due process rights in custody.
The team felt that the police used disproportionate force to disperse the protestors. It believed that the use of live ammunition was uncalled for.
Muhammad Arif, a cattle merchant, stuck in traffic was shot and died during the scuffle.
The statements of Arif’s brothers, recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), read that their brother was beaten by police officials and was shot by a policeman.
The team said this statement had not led to the kind of through investigation that such a serious charge warrants.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Jan Muhammad reportedly hit by a stone thrown by the protesters died 13 days later.
The team was told that several people who had not been present at the protest were arrested subsequently and charged with murder. This included seven women and their children.
The team learnt that no provision had been made for emergency medical support.
It observed that while most accounts claimed that there had been no more than 50 protesters, police had nominated 32 people and accused another 200 unidentified persons of involvement in the murder of Muhammad Arif and ASI Jan Muhammad. Later, police had added the names of another 120 people to the FIR.
The report observed that the fact finding teams efforts to unearth the facts were hampered by the refusal of senior police officials to talk to them.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2012.
The use of live ammunition by police against protesters from Dera Sehgal Farms on May 16 appears to have been uncalled for, a Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report released on Friday says.
An HRCP fact-finding team had visited Muridke last month to investigate police action on May 16 to disperse tenants protesting at the arrest of four fellow workers from Dera Sehgal Farms earlier in the day. A passerby was shot and killed during the commotion while a policeman injured in the violence died a fortnight later.
The team was told that about 50 unarmed tenants had assembled on GT Road in Muridke to protest the arrest of four fellow villagers.
It was told that the police had agreed to release the four men who appeared to have been denied due process rights in custody.
The team felt that the police used disproportionate force to disperse the protestors. It believed that the use of live ammunition was uncalled for.
Muhammad Arif, a cattle merchant, stuck in traffic was shot and died during the scuffle.
The statements of Arif’s brothers, recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), read that their brother was beaten by police officials and was shot by a policeman.
The team said this statement had not led to the kind of through investigation that such a serious charge warrants.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Jan Muhammad reportedly hit by a stone thrown by the protesters died 13 days later.
The team was told that several people who had not been present at the protest were arrested subsequently and charged with murder. This included seven women and their children.
The team learnt that no provision had been made for emergency medical support.
It observed that while most accounts claimed that there had been no more than 50 protesters, police had nominated 32 people and accused another 200 unidentified persons of involvement in the murder of Muhammad Arif and ASI Jan Muhammad. Later, police had added the names of another 120 people to the FIR.
The report observed that the fact finding teams efforts to unearth the facts were hampered by the refusal of senior police officials to talk to them.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2012.