Christian man allegedly tortured to death by police in Lahore
Shahzad- also known as Mithu- was arrested by the police on Friday night after which an FIR was filed against him. Shahzad was in custody for selling alcohol and drugs.
Shahzad’s family attributed his death to police torture, alleging that he died during interrogation. Police officials however, claimed that he died due to a heart attack.
Family members of the deceased protested in front of the Green Town police station and threw stones at the police station. DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf took notice of the incident after the protest by Shahzad's family members, who also tried to forcibly enter the police station by breaking the front door.
An FIR was then registered against investigation officer (IO) ASI Rauf and three constables whose names have not been revealed.
Angry protesters also burned tyres and broke glass with sticks, managing to block the road outside the police station.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, SP Sadar Ijaz Shafi Dogar confirmed that an FIR had been registered against IO Rauf and the three unknown constables. The dead body was moved to Munshi Hospital where medical boards will perform a postmortem.
“We will receive the postmortem report in the evening and the accused including the ASI Rauf and others constables who are nominated in the FIR will be arrested after that,” said Dogar.
DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf told The Express Tribune that once the postmortem results were received, action will be taken against the alleged assailants if they were found guilty.
Further, he added that proper procedures would be enforced and strictly followed as nobody is above the law and justice would prevail.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, the brother of the deceased said that his elder brother was innocent. "When police arrested him [Shahzad] on Friday night nothing was recovered from him and in the morning they had killed him by torturing him during interrogation," he said.
“We request the chief minister to take notice of the incident and the government should also look after the family of the deceased,” he said.
Another relative of the deceased said that they would continue protesting outside the police station till the FIR is registered against SHO Muhammad Sharif Sindhu.
ASI Rauf refused to comment on the incident.
COMMENTS (11)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1725254039-0/Untitled-design-(24)1725254039-0-270x192.webp "foreign nationals including afghan citizens participating in pti protest interior minister")
1732449527-0/Express-Tribune-(4)1732449527-0-270x192.webp "pti protest newlyweds forced to take motorcycle ride amid roadblocks")
1732441230-0/BeFunk_§_]__-(49)1732441230-0.jpg "people have rejected pti s protest call ahsan iqbal")
In Pakistan minorities have no rights. This kind of incident is normal and happens on a daily basis. It is good to see tribune report and bring it to knowledge of its readers.
happening everywhere. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30160199
Go Religion Go !!
I don't understand the need of mentioning what religion this guy belonged to! What was the point of mentioning that he was a christian... He was arrested for selling alcohol and drugs which in my knowledge is illegal whether you are muslim of christian and it wasn't due to his religion so why would you even mention it?
Pak police are the worst people ever.bunch of low class hooligans with no morals at all.n yeah the most corrupt.
Who does the Punjab Police report to? The man have the political responsibility should have the decency to come forward and offer his resignation. Torture is practiced by the American democratic order, let Pakistan not follow the American lead!!!
Rex Minor
Go Nawaz Go
....and Shahbaz Sharif still sits as Chief Minister ....... and pats himself on the back.
@Iconoclast: If we set propaganda aside, i think this is still worthy of news because Muslim drug lords are given govt. contracts while non-Muslim ones are killed. Muslims in a Muslim state are responsible for lives of Non-Muslims. This is a collective responsibility.
A drug pedder tortured to death by police or the fact that he was a christian man ; what makes it a bigger news. Obviously the fact that the man was a Chrisitian. Perfect example of sensational reporting.