Possible mistreatment: Judge transfers case after suspect accuses police of abuse

Liaquat Ali says no encounter took place before his arrest and he had been abused by officers after arrest.

KARACHI: A district and sessions court on Monday ordered a police AIG to take back the investigation of two cases from an investigation officer and transfer them to a different police station after the suspect accused the policemen of mistreating him after his arrest. The court also ordered the DG health to have the suspect's wounds examined to determine whether he was telling the truth.

The suspect was arrested after an alleged encounter with the police on charges of attempted murder and carrying an illegal weapon. On Monday, when the police produced the suspect, Liaquat Ali, before the district West judicial magistrate, Sohail Ahmed Mashori, he complained to the judge that he had been mistreated by the police since his arrest and informed the court that he was not shot and injured in an encounter with the police but that the policemen cut his body parts at the police station.

While complaining about the torture, Ali told the court that no encounter took place at the time of his arrest, and the policemen allegedly detained him after stopping him and carrying out snap checking.

On the other hand, the police had claimed to have arrested Ali and seized a weapon from his possession during an alleged encounter within the limits of the SITE A police station on July 20.

When the police produced the suspect before the court for physical custody remand, the police also submitted a medical report prepared by an MLO of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital stating that the suspect had sustained firearms injuries.

After reviewing the report and inspecting the suspect's wounds, the court sent the suspect for a medical examination at the Civil hospital with directions to produce the report before the court. After examining the initial and the second report, the court decided to send the suspect to jail on judicial custody remand and directed the DG health to produce the medical report of the board before the court in two days. Two cases under sections relating to police encounter, attempted murder and carrying illegal weapon were registered against the suspect at the SITE A police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2014.