Mayhem in court: Policeman’s face blackened in court

Lawyers associations to protest police misconduct this week.

LAHORE:

A group of lawyers thrashed a police official in a district and sessions judge’s court on Monday and smeared black shoe polish on his face.

Inspector Umar Rasheed Butt of Samanabad police station’s investigation wing had appeared before Judge Syed Hamid Hussain Shah to produce the case record against a suspect who is also the nephew of a member of the Punjab Bar Council. A group of lawyers, led by Punjab Bar Council member Babar Waheed, beat up Butt and injured him badly.

The lawyers claimed that Butt had used abusive language against Advocate Sharafat Khan and had slapped him first. They said lawyers in the court had tried to control the situation but the policemen accompanying Butt had attacked the lawyers first.

Advocate Babar Waheed said, “Policemen raided my house on Sunday looking for my nephew...when they couldn’t find him they took his wife Maryam and his year-and-a-half old daughter Minsha.” He said he had filed a habeas corpus petition requesting the court to send a bailiff to recover Maryam and Minsha from the police station.

The bailiff told the court that he had found Maryam and her daughter at the Race Course women’s police station. He said the police had been unable to provide proof of a criminal case against Maryam or a warrant for her arrest.

Maryam and Minsha were produced in court. The bailiff also directed the clerk (moharrar) to produce the Race Course women’s police in charge in court. Samanabad policemen Umar Daraz and Mustafa, who were present at the Race Course women’s police station at that time, were also told to appear in court.

The petitioner’s counsel said that Maryam and Minsha’s illegal detention had been established. The petitioner also accused the policemen of stealing valuables and gold jewellery during the raid.

Judge Hamid Hussain Shah directed the CCPO to register an FIR against Deputy Superintendent Nishat Cheema, the Samanabad SHO, Inspector Umar Rasheed Butt and other Samanabad police officials and produce a copy in court on February 25 (today).

Advocate Waheed said the police officials had attacked the lawyers and violated the court’s decorum. He said during the scuffle policemen had also abducted two lawyers Malik Faheem Awan and Mehar Irfan Jahangir. Waheed said the lawyers had submitted an application to the district and sessions judge seeking the registration of a case against the policemen who had abducted the two lawyers and thrashed and injured several others.

Inspector Umar Rasheed Butt told The Express Tribune that he had not started the fight. “The lawyers had violated the court’s decorum and beat me up in court.” Butt, however, refused to comment on the case.

Iqbal Town Division SP Tariq Mehmood said two groups had been involved in a shootout on Saturday. The police had received a call about it. Constables Liaquat Ali and Riasat Ali and four pedestrians were injured in the shooting. Mehmood said Advocate Waheed’s nephew had been nominated in the FIR.

When asked whether Maryam had also been named in the FIR, SP Mehmood said she had.

Lahore Bar Association President Chaudhry Ishtiaq said they would protest against misconduct by the police. He said the police had previously told the court that Maryam had not been nominated.

However on Monday, the police produced an FIR against her. The court directed the CCPO to register a case against the police officials involved. This infuriated the police and they thrashed the lawyers, he said.

Police said that they would register an FIR against the lawyers who had thrashed Inspector Butt and blackened his face. However, an FIR had not been registered till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2014.