Inquiry : Police encounter turns out fake

FAISALABAD:

A district and sessions judge on Wednesday ordered registration of FIRs against eight policemen for their role in the death of a proclaimed offender and his alleged accomplice.

The family of the deceased, Siddique and Ejaz, had registered a case against the sub inspector and seven other policemen for killing the two men in a staged encounter. They protested against the police in front of the police station and demanded registration of FIR against them. They also demanded an inquiry in to the encounter.

A district and session judge then ordered Judicial Magistrate Shakeel Ahmad Sipra to hold a judicial inquiry.

The inquiry officer ordered a post-mortem examination of the deceased and provided evidence that the encounter was a fake. The court learnt on Wednesday that the two men were shot at point blank range. He said the accused were also interrogated about the incident, individually. He said they had confessed to killing the two men on point blank.

On May 18, a police team, headed by SI Asim Rasheed, had claimed to have stopped four men on two motorcycles near Saddar Bypass. When they tried to flee, the police said, they chased them. One of the motorcycles skidded and the two men riding fell, while their accomplices fled away. Police said they tried to arrest them, but they shot at the policemen, who shot back killing both of them on the spot.

The policemen have been identified as Asim Rasheed, Sana Ali, Waqas Muhammad Akram, Azizullah, Shoaib Ehtisham, Zahid Sarfraz, Ramazan and Rafiqullah.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2012.