Tariq Mehboob death: Court dismisses plea to book Rangers, jail superintendent

Judge says judicial inquiry is already underway, no action till report is submitted

KARACHI: A city court on Wednesday disposed of a plea seeking the registration of an FIR against Rangers officials and the superintendent of Karachi Central Jail on charges of 'murdering' Anjuman Naujwanan-i-Islam chief Tariq Mehboob for its non-maintainability.

Mehboob, also a member of the Sunni Ittehad Council, was mysteriously found dead on April 16 while in the custody of the Rangers, two days after he was detained by the paramilitary force for three months under the Anti-Terrorism Act. While the law enforcers claimed that he died of a cardiac arrest, his supporters rejected this claim, alleging that he had been subjected to torture.

The application was moved by the deceased's brother, Athar Mehboob, before the additional district and sessions judge V of District East, Inamullah Kalhoro. The plaintiff contended that his brother was killed by the investigators but the police were reluctant to register a case. He pleaded the judge direct the New Town SHO to register an FIR for murder on his complaint.

The judge, in his reply, remarked that a judicial inquiry was already underway under magistrate Wasim Ahmed. No action will be taken until its report was furnished, he added. He also asked the plaintiff to appear before the inquiry officer if he had any proof for his claim. The inquiry was initiated on the orders of the District East's top judge, Syed Shakil Hyder.

A medical board has also been set up to ascertain the facts of Mehboob's death. According to a preliminary medical report, no torture marks were found on his body. However, the actual cause will only be confirmed in the chemical examination report, which is still due.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 30^th, 2015.