“We are aware of what happens in the province and who is responsible, we also know how to send such people home,” says CJ Khan. PHOTO:FILE
PESHAWAR:
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has served notices to the police chief and SSP Investigation seeking their response as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for violating orders in the dumped bodies case.
The notices were issued by a PHC division bench headed by Chief Justice (CJ) Dost Muhammad Khan and comprising Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth. On August 16, the PHC had taken suo motu notice of bodies of missing persons being found in gunny bags.
Deputing an assistant sub-inspector to investigate the case is contrary to the assurances made before the court of assigning high-ranking officials, noted the bench on Wednesday.
On November 6, Additional Inspector General Investigation Idrees Khan had told the court that senior officials had been tasked to look into the matter.
“We are aware of what happens in the province and who is responsible, we also know how to send such people home,” remarked CJ Khan, adding that relegating a junior official reflects the high handedness of police officials.
Related matters
On Wednesday, the PHC reiterated that if authorities failed to compensate the legal heirs of missing people eventually found dead, the court would attach provincial and federal property.
The court initially issued these orders during a case hearing on January 22 after Hameeda Bibi, Farmanullah’s mother, reported that she had received her son’s body in a sack. The gunny sack was found near the motorway, within the Prang police station’s jurisdiction.
Replies from the prime minister, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and federal secretary finance have been sought by the court about why heirs of those apparently tortured to death by security agencies should not be compensated with diyat (blood money).
It also directed the secretary finance to issue funds for installing CCTV cameras on the motorway to record criminal activity. This was after officials informed the bench they had no information on who dumped Farmanullah’s body.
The justices also put the Ministry of Interior on notice, seeking their reply to allegations made by Haji Mir Rehman. Rehman had accused security forces of arresting and killing his brother Abdul Samad.
Samad had been allegedly picked up by security forces on October 19, 2011. His body was later recovered in the limits of West Cantt police station on August 6, 2012.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2013.
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