Formal word: Four Layyah cops arrested in torture video case

The DPO says the accused have confessed.

MULTAN:

District Police Officer (DPO) Ghazi Salahuddin on Saturday told a press conference on Saturday that a video featuring brutal beating and humiliation of a citizen by Layyah police was authentic.

The DPO had earlier suggested that the video may have been quite old or the incident may not have occurred in Layyah. On Saturday, he said the incident occurred a month ago.

He said the police officials involved in the beating and video-taping the incident had confessed to the crime.

He said the police had failed to take action sooner because the victim had not come forward and filed a complaint.

“The victim came to us yesterday and submitted a complaint,” the DPO said.

He said an FIR had been registered at Chobara police station against Constables Asmatullah, Zafar Iqbal, Sarfraz, Amjal Ali and ASI Muhammad Nawaz.

He said all five officials had been suspended from service and the constables have had been arrested.

He said ASI Nawaz had fled. He said efforts would made to arrest him soon.

“A team supervised by DSP Muhammad Shamsul Haq has been tasked to apprehend Nawaz,” he said.

He said the Choabra station house officer had not been nominated in the victim’s complaint and therefore, no action had been taken against him.

On Friday, Abdul Qadir Khosa, the victim of brutality caught on video had filed a petition at the Layyah district and sessions court, seeking action against officials involved in beating him allegedly at the behest of an MPA.

He had also urged the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the incident.

He told newsmen that on April 27, he, his mother, wife and children, were dragged out of their home by ASI Muhammad Nawaz and Constable Muhammad Zafar.

He said when they resisted, they were beaten by the officials.

He said Chobara SHO Yousuf Lashari arrived later and the SHO told the ASI to beat him. He said at the time, the SHO got a call on his mobile phone and he said he had complied with “the orders” and would soon visit “the farmhouse.” He said he said he was badly beaten and forced to kiss the feet of the ASI several times.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2014.