Death in custody: Deceased’s family registers FIR against the Rangers, police

After the death, police dept suspends Sacchal SHO Ejaz Rajper and SIO Murawwat.

KARACHI:

The family of Bilal aka Mullah, who was allegedly involved in the attack on Rangers and died in police custody on Friday, held the law enforcing agencies responsible for his death by registering an FIR against them on Saturday.

Bilal along with three of his companions, was arrested on July 17 after the Rangers personnel and police conducted a targeted operation in Ali Town, Sikander Goth. The operation was conducted after two paramilitary soldiers were wounded with bullets on July 15 near the Rangers’ check post on Abul Hassan Isphani Road, opposite al-Asif Square in Sohrab Goth.

The FIR, No. 383/13 under Section 302/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code, was registered on the complaint of Bilal’s father, Yasin, at the Sacchal police station against the Rangers and police. The complainant, however, did not name the Rangers official responsible, saying, “He could recognise the person who opened fire through an identification parade.”

The case was registered after Bilal’s family members, relatives and neighbours staged a protest outside the Sacchal police station. They also reportedly tried to attack the police station but extra contingents of law enforcers were able to control the situation by registering the case.

The complainant, Yasin, told the media that the Rangers officials also detained him and his three younger sons and took them to the Rangers Headquarters where they kept his deceased son in another room.

“We were outside the locked room while the Rangers personnel tortured my son. We could hear him [Bilal] shouting,” he said. “After brutally torturing Bilal, the Rangers officials later handed him over to the police.”

Following the incident, Sacchal SHO Ejaz Rajper was suspended after being demoted as he took credit for Bilal’s arrest and Station Investigation Officer Murawwat was also suspended for not taking any steps to save the suspect’s life even though he was in a critical condition.

DSP Khalid Khan while talking to The Express Tribune said that the police have also named police constable Ali Raza in the FIR as the complainant claimed that Raza, being an informer for the Rangers, was responsible for the raid. No arrests were made till the filing of this report.

The Rangers officials, however, denied torturing the suspect and said that the handling/tackling certificates of the suspect make it clear that he was in good health when given to the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2013.