Ex-DPO, 28 others charged for murder

All accused have refused to plead guilty; hearing adjourned till November 6.

GUJRANWALA:

Former District Police officer Waqar Ahmad Chohan and 28 others who had been accused of involvement in the Sialkot Lynching case have been charged with murder by the Gujranwala Anti Terrorism Court. All of the accused have refused to plead guilty.

These people were produced before the court today. Six people have been summoned for their statements on November 6, 2010, when the next hearing is scheduled.

The indictment charges all of the accused, including Chohan, with murder, negligence, desecration of dead bodies and terrorism.

The murder charges were levelled against them for their involvement in the Sialkot Lynching, where in a shocking episode, an enraged mob tortured two teenage brothers, Hafiz Mughees and Muneeb Butt, beating them to death with sticks, stones, bricks, wooden and iron rods, and later hung the dead bodies in the presence of senior police officials in Sialkot at Buttar on August 15, 2010

Chohan is one of nine police officials who allegedly failed to stop the killings and public lynching of the brothers. He had previously been released on bail by the court, even though he had been charged with negligence in his duties with regard to the killing. The brutal public murder of two brothers from Sialkot had led to the suspension of at least 14 police officials.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: November 4, 2010

Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of the article incorrectly described the incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2010.