Watching the watchmen: Police, Rangers have wrongfully arrested five men, say petitioners

SHC directs officials to produce the detained men.

KARACHI:

The police and Rangers have wrongfully arrested five men, according to five different petitions filed before the Sindh High Court.

The petitions were filed seeking the recovery of five men, who have been wrongfully apprehended by the authorities. All the petitioners claimed that their relatives are being detained illegally and their whereabouts have not been disclosed.

Muhammad Iqbal, who filed one of the petitions, claimed that Pakistan Rangers personnel took his relative, Owais, into custody from the limits of the Kharadar police station on October 14. Another petitioner, Khursheed Zaidi, alleged that the Rangers arrested his relative, Syed Ali Hasan Abbas, from the jurisdictions of Brigade police station on October 16.

The third petitioner, Younus Hasan Siddiqui, said his relative, Amir Hasan Siddiqui, was detained by the Rangers from the limits of Landhi police station on October 19. Surraiya Begum, who also filed a petition against the Rangers, claimed they have unlawfully taken her relative, Sohail Sultan, into custody after arresting him from Landhi on October 19.

The fifth petition was filed by SM Younus Mansoori whose relative, Muhammad Asif Mansoori, was arrested by the Rangers from Gizri Road on October 21. After the initial hearing, the high court bench issued notices to the respective police station’s house officers to trace and produce the detainees by October 29. The police authorities were also asked to submit the details of the arrested men and the reasons for detaining them as all the detained men were handed over to them by the Rangers.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2013.