Law and order: ‘My brother was abducted and killed by cops’

Complainant says his brother was accused of killing his wife and was killed in custody.

FAISALABAD:

Hundreds of residents of Muhammadpura staged a protest demonstration on Sunday against Toba Tek Singh police for killing a murder accused in custody and faking an abduction.

They gathered at Tower Chowk in Toba Tek Singh and blocked the intersection for traffic.

The protestors also suspended railway traffic by staging a sit-in on the railway track and closing the crossing.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Muhammad Sultan said his brother Muhammad Shahid was arrested for killing his wife Nasreen Bibi last week.



He said Shahid was taken to a police station where he was beaten to death.

Sultan said police did not inform his family about his death.

He said he was called to the police station on Friday.

“Sub Inspector Saeed Akhtar and some other policemen told me to sign an abduction complaint with respect to my brother,” he said.

He said he asked them about Shahid and why he was being asked to sign the complaint but no one gave him a straight answer.

He said on Saturday, he found out that his brother had died.

Sultan police had apparently made him sign an abduction complaint to cover up his death.

He said he had tried to contact senior police officials about the case but he was told his brother was not in police custody.

“Policemen told me my brother had been abducted and they were making efforts for his safe recovery,” Sultan.

He said some relatives and neighbours had staged a protest demonstration but no one took notice of the issue.

The protesters chanted slogans against the police and demanded action against those responsible for killing a man police custody.

The protestors also demanded Shahid’s body for burial.

Traffic in the city was suspended for over three hours during the protest.

Talking to The Express Tribune, City Toba Tek Singh Station House Officer (SHO) Zahid Hussain said Shahid had been abducted a few days ago by SI Muhammad Saeed Akhtar and his accomplices Constables Tasawwar Imran and Sajjad Hussain.

He said a team had been formed to find them.

The SHO said a case had been registered against the three officials under Section 365 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and had gone missing.

He said the police were trying to locate the three officials.

Toba Tek Singh District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Shehzad Asif said an unidentified body was found from Sargodha a few days ago.

“We believe that Shahid was taken to Sargodha after his abduction where he was killed and his body was dumped.”

He said a police team had invited Sultan to identify the body. He said raids were being conducted to find his kidnappers.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24^th, 2014.