Fugitive police official arrested

Former officer found guilty of keeping impounded vehicle for personal use and concealing facts from dept arrested.

FAISALABAD:

A former Ghulam Muhammadabad station house officer found guilty of keeping an impounded vehicle for personal use and concealing facts from the department has been arrested, police spokesman Ameer Nasir Javaid said on Saturday.

Talking to the media, Javaid said, “A police team headed by Ghulam Muhmmadabad SHO Inspector Naveed Cheema arrested former SHO Rana Muhammad Asif from Lahore on Saturday.”

He said Asif had been in hiding after an anti terrorism court (ATC) awarded him two years imprisonment on October 20.

The police spokesman said Asif had stopped a car at a picket on Narwala Road on June 1 for not having a registration member. He said after a long discussion, the driver asked the SHO to grant him some time to bring the registration documents.



The driver said that the car had been purchased recently and that he had applied for a registration plate.  “The SHO let him go, but seized the car. The car remained in the SHO’s personal use for two days.”

On June 4, Javaid said the SHO took it for a wash at a petrol station and left it there. A few minutes later, he received a call from the station and was called back.

“The workers told him that they had noticed a suspicious looking box installed underneath the car when it was lifted up for the wash,” he said.

“When the box was dismantled it was found to contain explosive detonators, remote control kits and buffalo cylinders.”

The police spokesman said the car was then taken to the police station, where three suicide jackets, remote control kits, detonators, hand grenades, pistols, a Kalashnikov rifle, detonating card rolls, buffalo cylinders and highly explosive powder were discovered.

Javaid said Asif was found guilty of concealing the facts of the case. He said a case was registered against Asif under Section 155-C of Police Order 2002 (willful breach of law by a police officer).

The anti terrorism court (ATC) awarded two years imprisonment to SHO Rana Muhammad Asif.

“After he [Asif] heard the court order, he managed to flee from police custody,” Javaid said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2013.