PHOTO: ONLINE
Half-fry and full-fry is a term used by the police to refer to the condition of the suspects they come across during encounters, the former used when a person is merely injured and the latter used when the person dies during the raid.
In this case, the man who calls himself Raj was half-fried with 15 shots — 12 bullets to his left leg, two to his right leg and a single shot to his right arm. His left leg has been amputated while his other leg and arm are also in bad shape. His remaining arm is chained to the side of this bed at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where his medical report claims his name in Shareef, son of Abdullah.
Raj insisted he has no criminal records against him. "I am a post-graduate in psychology from the University of Sindh," he said, adding that he has been running a clinic in Chakra Goth for the last couple of years.
Encounter
On April 10, some policemen in plainclothes raided a tea shop in Hyderabad's Kali Morri area as he was sitting there. "I had to meet some relatives there and I just stayed for a cup of tea." The policemen caught hold of him at the shop and shot at his legs, he recalled, adding that they kept calling him 'Shareef Panhwar'.
"They took me to the police station and asked me to confess to crimes as I kept bleeding," said Raj. "They wanted me to say that I am Shareef Panhwar. I cried and told them that I am not even a Muslim and that my name is Deepak."
According to Raj, he was shot at around 5pm but he was taken to a hospital at 9pm. "They called me half-fried," he said. "It would have been better that they had 'full-fried' me."
Hyderabad SSP Irfan Baloch confirmed the man has been identified as Deepak but he insisted that the encounter was genuine. The police killed two of his aides and injured one, while two others escaped, he told The Express Tribune.
"He introduced himself Shareef Panhwar," he pointed out, adding that his brother, Suneel, who is in jail, also introduced himself as Muhammad Ali when he was arrested.
Treatment
Initially, he was taken to Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, but the condition of his leg kept worsening so the Hyderabad police brought him to Karachi's Liaquat National Hospital where his leg was amputated. The expenses at Liaquat were too much so he has now been shifted to JPMC. His wife, Suneeta, complained his condition keeps getting worse.
The incharge of JPMC's orthopaedic ward, Dr AR Jamali, confirmed that Deepak's leg and arm have developed wounds. "The rehabilitation will take some time." He said that it is hard to treat him at JPMC due to lack of staff and equipment. "He needs proper treatment and better care, which is not possible in the presence of the police."
Suneeta has met SSP Baloch who assured her of justice. "I requested him to concentrate on my husband's treatment first and then conducting an inquiry," she said, adding that the couple and their two-year-old boy, Rohan, is their only family.
"Marrying cousins is forbidden in our religion but we broke the tradition," said Raj, explaining why their families have stopped meeting them.
Writer Taj Joyo, who is the father of Deepak's friend, said that SSP Baloch has been cooperating for Deepak's treatment. "His treatment should be given priority," said Joyo. SSP Baloch assured that the police are helping the injured man during treatment. "I am trying my best to provide him better treatment."
As he waits for better treatment, Raj catches up on his reading. There is a pile of nearly six books on his bedside table. "Reading is my hobby but the system has declared me a criminal," he said. "I have lost my leg and my honour."
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2015.
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