Transfer of custody: After the Rangers, it’s the police’s turn to interrogate suspects

Police given remand of two suspects who allegedly confessed to crimes before the Rangers.

KARACHI:

The Rangers have started the process of handing over the suspected criminals detained for 90 days in connection with their alleged involvement in targeted killings, extortion and other heinous offences to the police after the sanctioned period expired.

The defence counsels have, however, raised questions over the process as the Rangers had to file the investigation report after the sanctioned period but the police have started taking suspects’ remand again for “interrogation”.

One such suspect, Riasatullah, who was detained by the Rangers for 90 days over his alleged involvement in the offences was produced on Thursday before the Anti-Terrorism Court by the police for obtaining five-day remand in a double murder case.

According to the police, the Rangers had produced the suspect before the court to inform the judge about his 90-day preventive detention for interrogation on November 25, 2013.

At that time, the court was informed that the paramilitary force had “credible information” about his involvement in criminal activities and added that as per new amendments made to the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the paramilitary force had been authorised to detain suspects for three months for interrogation.

Although the Rangers did not produce any FIR then, they had contended that the suspect was required to be questioned for his alleged involvement in the offences that fall under the ATA 1997.

According to the police, the suspect, during his detention, confessed to his involvement in a double murder case. The police claimed that the suspect confessed to killing two men, Kamran and Nawab, and injuring another man, Suleman, in Orangi Town. Following his confession, the police produced the suspect before the court, with the request for his remand for interrogation.

In defence

While shunning all the allegations, the counsel for the suspect, Muhammad Jiwani said that the police had foisted a bogus case on his client, adding that when the Rangers’ couldn’t find a single evidence against the suspect, they handed him over to the police to book him in any case on February 23.

Interestingly, he said, the police produced the suspect before a judicial magistrate in district West and got a one-day remand and now they have produced him before ATC without inserting sections of the ATA in the case.

The defence counsel claimed that the Rangers personnel in civvies had picked up the suspect from his home on November 20, 2013, and disclosed his arrest on November 25 before the ATC after his mother went to the Sindh High Court against the law enforcers.

Jiwani said that the police booked him a case, No.79/12, which was registered under sections 302, 324 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code against unidentified men at the Orangi police station, adding that there was no element of terrorism in the case.

Remands

Following the arguments, the ATC-II remanded the suspect to the police for five days. In a similar case, the court gave physical custody remand of a suspect, Islam aka Foji, to the Surjani Town police on Friday.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2014.