Family freed from private jail

KARACHI: A police team led by a judicial magistrate conducted a raid at the house of Sajawal DSP on Wednesday and freed two women and a child who were illegally detained by him. The raid was conducted on the orders of the Thatta sessions judge when a woman, Vilayat Khatoon, filed a petition in the sessions court that the Sajawal police had kidnapped and detained her daughter Zarina, son-in-law Mor, her grandchild and her son-in-law’s sister Shahzadi in a private prison. There was no record or case filed against these people, making it an illegal detention, she added.

District and Sessions Judge Ghulam Mustafa Memon ordered the judicial magistrate Ghulam Mathelo to carry out a raid at the DSP’s house and free Khatoon’s family. The judge also ordered for the arrests of SHO Sajawal Zahid Sheikh, Head Constable Sher Muhammad, ASI Amjad Malkani and other officers allegedly involved. He also told DPO Thatta to suspend these officers and register FIRs against them. He cautioned the DPO that they should not be appointed or transferred to any other post till investigations were done. The whereabouts of Mor are not known and it is suspected that he is still in the custody of ASI Malkani. The judge has ordered that Mor be found immediately.

After the recovery, the freed women and child were taken to court to testify. Zarina told the sessions judge that during detention, head constable Sher Muhammad repeatedly raped and beat her. Khatoon stated in court that the SHO and the other accused officers broke into Mor’s house and kidnapped them at gunpoint. The judge summoned Police Headquarters inspector Javed Iqbal and asked him to find Zarina’s husband, Mor, and present him in court.