Medical examination of a man, who claimed to have been illegally detained and tortured by the police after being implicated in a theft case, has proven that he was physically assaulted.
A medical report issued by the District Headquarter Hospital Haripur on Saturday confirmed that Abdul Waheed, 30, was subjected to physical torture which caused damage to both his kidneys. The report stated that Waheed also carried numerous bruises on his body, confirming he was beaten repeatedly.
District Police Officer Muhammad Ali Khan Gandapur has ordered an inquiry into the case.
Waheed, a rickshaw driver from Khalabat Township, earlier told media persons that three plain-clothed policemen intercepted him in Panian village, about 3 kilometres from the GT Road, and took him into custody on charges of stealing buffaloes worth Rs5 million from a neighbouring village. He said the policemen took him to the Panian Police Post, where they stripped him, hung him upside down, kicked and punched him and lashed him using a wide leather whip and a rubber belt till he confessed to a crime he did not commit. He fell unconscious due to the pain.
Waheed said he was illegally detained and kept hungry for over 10 hours.
He said that due to the inhumane punishment, he has developed infection in both his kidneys and is unable to walk or drive his tri-wheeler rickshaw to earn a living for his minor children and elderly mother.
One of the accused policemen, DSP Khanpur Asif Goher, denied the victim’s claims while talking to media two days back.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2012.
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