New investigation team given 14 days

The cases emanate from a controversy over 28.12 acres of land in Deh Jeroji, Tappu Darsanao Channo.

KARACHI:
A reinvestigation into six FIRs, including one by the owner of a construction company, and five by the police on behalf of the State against him was ordered by a division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) here on Monday.

The cases emanated from a controversy over 28.12 acres of land in Deh Jeroji, Tappu Darsanao Channo between al Fanon Construction Company owned by complainant Muhammad Shoaibul Haq and owners of Cosmic Town. According to the complainant, on Dec 11, 2009, a police team raided the disputed land and after overpowering men from the complainant’s side, shot at their legs, injuring them.

The leg of one  Muhammad Raheem was amputated due to firearm injuries as well. An FIR was lodged on Haq’s complaint and he later filed a complaint with the Provincial Police Officer (PPO) that the investigation officers were delaying the submission of the charge sheet to save the skin of police officials.

The court heard the PPO, who appeared on notice and informed the bench that both the IOs Muhammad Mubeen and Asif Rauf have been suspended for negligence in the investigations of case FIR No 31/ 2010 registered under sections 147 and 148 of the CrPC. He also informed the court that the charge sheet against the complainant (also the accused) in five cases have been submitted before the court of competent jurisdiction.


The bench ordered on Monday the reconstitution of the Investigating committee substituting SSP East Zone Niaz Khoso in place of the SSP South and also ordered that a new committee will be headed by DIGP South as ordered by the PPO. The bench said that the committee will examine the complainant and his witnesses and will “also unearth truth-taking note of claim by the complainant “

The bench also ordered the committee to “reinvestigate the cases emanating from FIR Nos 395, 396, 397, 398 and 399/2009 of PS Steel Town against the complainant/accused and others”.

The committee will examine the rival parties and their witnesses, and submit a report under Section 173 of the CrPC to the courts concerned and if the reports have already been submitted then the proposed report by the new investigation committee shall be treated as a supplementary charge sheet. A fortnight’s time was given to the committee to undertake the entire exercise, the bench said, directing the PPO to “take action against the IOs who played foul in either submitting the report under Section 173 or defaulted in not submitting the report on one pretext or another”.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12th, 2010.
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