After almost 36 hours of the incident, a case was finally registered on Friday over the kidnapping of a retired intelligence official and the killing of his driver in Islamabad.
Sihala police registered an FIR under sections 302 and 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), on the complaint of the former military officer’s wife.
Brigadier (retd) Tahir Masood was abducted Thursday morning by unidentified gunmen close to his residence in Islamabad. His driver, Hussain, who attempted to resist the kidnapping, was shot dead.
Before any FIR was registered though, the city police, in a swift move, constituted four high-powered police teams, each headed by a Superintendent of Police (SP), for the safe recovery of Brig Masood.
However, at the time, legally the teams could not proceed with investigations as a case had still not been registered with the Sihala police for either the kidnapping or the murder of Brig Masood’s driver.
“These teams cannot investigate the incident until a First Information Report (FIR) is registered in the Sihala police station. This means they cannot collect evidence,” said a senior officer of the city police, adding that in the absence of an FIR, the police can only hold inquiries which are limited to questioning.
According to the law, the police are required to register an FIR within 24 hours of an incident without any delay. “It is to facilitate the police to launch early investigations and collect evidence,” the officer added.
In a late night development on Thursday, Inspector General of Police Bani Amin Khan convened an emergency meeting of top police officers of the city to prepare a strategy, during which the investigations teams were formed.
The four teams are each headed by SP Saddar Sajid Kiyani, SP Investigation Capt (retd) Mustansar, SP City Capt (retd) Muhammad Illyas and SP Rural Muhammad Sadaqat.
Police officials said at least one of the teams visited the site of the incident and conducted a search operation in the area. “This police team received information on possible clues and went after it,” said a police officer privy to the investigations.
“So far, most of the investigation is being handled by the security agencies,” said a Sihala police station officer.
A senior police officer quoting initial investigations, however, told The Express Tribune, that neither had Brig Masood received a direct threat from any one nor did he have any personal enmity.
He added that the police and security agencies were working in close coordination for the safe recovery of the retired officer.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2012.
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