Police excesses: Minor seminary student tortured

KARACHI: Three policemen were suspended on Tuesday for torturing a minor in Gulberg. Muhammad Ali, a 13-yead old seminary student, was returning home after having juice at a nearby shop when he was picked up by Muhammad Fateh, Mazhar Ali and Ali Ashar and taken to the police station.

The family said that they reached the police station when they were told about the incident by Muhammad Ali’s friends but the police refused to hand over the child. He was returned in an unconscious state only after they paid Rs10,000 as bribe, they alleged.

The family later staged a protest outside the Governor House. Dr Ishratul Ebad took notice of the incident and ordered an FIR to be registered against the culprits. DSP Altaf Hussain confirmed that a case has been registered against the three men under sections 342/34, 327.F/1 and 504 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Only Fateh was arrested by the police while the other two managed to escape.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2013.