PHC asked to implement FIR against officials

Accusations of torture

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has received an application seeking implementation of the first information report (FIR) registered against the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials for allegedly torturing an accused in custody. Saiqa Gul Khitab, daughter of NAB employee Sardar Gul Khitab, in her application sought action on the FIR lodged against the Director General NAB KP Shehzad Saleem and Investigation Officer Muhammad Umair Butt.

In compliance with the PHC order issued on May 11for registration of the FIR, she said the Hayatabad Police Station registered FIR on May 16 against the DG NAB and another official for alleged torture on Sardar Gul Khitab, who was arrested in a case of corruption.         

According to the application, the police registered the FIR to comply with the court order, but no action was taken against the DG NAB and the other officer.“We want justice and action against the officials as per the law,” she requested the PHC chief justice in the application.

On May 11, a PHC division bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Musarrat Hilali allowed the writ petition and ordered registration of the FIR against the DG NAB and investigation officer Umair Butt.

The suspect was arrested by the NAB on April 30. An accountability court remanded him into NAB’s custody for seven days. The NAB alleged that he had received bribe of Rs200,000 from a municipal officer, Mehboob Ali, in Abbottabad by impersonating as NAB KP Assistant Director (Investigation) Umair Butt. The FIR was registered under sections 337-K (causing hurt to extort confession), 337-A (i) (causing hurt) and section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). In one of the sections, there is 10-year punishment.

In the FIR, the complainant Saiqa Gul Khitab claimed that her father was severely tortured by the investigation officer during custody on the directives of the DG NAB Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She stated that both the medical reports by the Police Services Hospital and Lady Reading Hospital support her claim that her father had been tortured during custody.

During hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer Sardar Ali Raza also submitted before the bench that his client’s father was severely tortured during custody. He said that following submission of an application, the accountability court summoned Sardar Gul Khitab whose health had deteriorated.

He submitted that the suspect and his daughter Saiqa Gul Khitab alleged before the accountability court that he was severely tortured in custody by Investigation Officer Umair Butt. However, the investigation officer denied the charges and said the injuries were self-inflicted. The accountability court referred the suspect to Police Services Hospital for medical check-up and the report noted that he had bruises on his arms, legs and buttocks. For further confirmation, the court referred the suspect to Lady Reading Hospital. The doctors there also reported that Sardar Gul Khitab had bruises.