Police brutality: Man ‘tortured’ to death by cops

Eight policemen booked; SHO suspended, avoids being named in FIR

RAWALPINDI:

A man held on carjacking charges was allegedly tortured to death by officials from the New Town and Airport police stations in the wee hours on Thursday.

Saeed Khan, a resident of the Burhaan Khel area of Mohmand Agency, was arrested four days back in the jurisdiction of Chontra Police Station. He was later handed over to the New Town police.

A first investigation report (FIR) has been registered against eight policemen including the Airport police investigation officer. Airport Police Station House Officer Raja Mussadaq, however, was not nominated as the CPO suspended him immediately after the incident.

A police official told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity that four alleged carjackers were arrested by the Chontra police four days back. He said that three of them were handed over to the Chontra police and one to the New Town police. He added that the investigation officer at Chontra Police Station rang up Muhammad Ghazanfar, his counterpart at Airport Police Station, at 10:30pm and told him that they had completed their interrogation and the Airport police could take custody of alleged thief. He said the New Town police handed over the man to the Airport police.

The alleged thief was lying unconscious in critical condition at the time and died before he was provided any medical help, the police official said.

He added that all eight policemen from the two police stations have been booked for murder.

He said the body of the deceased was shifted to District Headquarters Hospital for autopsy.

The police mentioned in the FIR, which is believed to have been registered after the suspect died, that the suspected was unconscious in the lock up at Airport Police Station and bore torture marks on his body. It adds that he died en route to hospital.

The FIR has held policemen Faizan Yaseen, Muhammad Waqas and Muhammad Farooq of Airport Police Station and Ghazanfar Ali, Asad Ali, Muhammad Taj, Abdul Khaliq and Ghulam Mustafa of New Town Police Station responsible for the crime.

CPO Humayun Bashir Tarrar said all the nominated police officials have been arrested and that such heinous acts would not be tolerated at any cost.

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