SHC orders inquiry against cops who ‘implicated citizen in false case’

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has quashed a criminal case against a labourer of a private textile mills who was booked by the police in a false illegal weapon case following his release by investigation agencies that had detained him for interrogation.

The high court also ordered the East operations SSP to conduct an inquiry against police personnel who had booked the labourer and take stern action against them for adding to the agony of the family of the missing person after his release by the agencies.

The petitioner, Hajra, had submitted that her son Salman Khan, a labourer in a private textile mill, was picked up by personnel of law enforcement agencies (LEAs) on August 9 in the Mehmoodabad area and his whereabouts were unknown since then. She had also filed a statement duly signed by the textile mills representative that the detainee had been in service and attended the office till the date of his illegal detention by the LEAs.

Later, the Mehmoodabad SHO filed a statement before the court along with an FIR showing the arrest of Khan on August 21 within the limits of the Sharea Faisal police station. He submitted that the detainee was arrested at 2am on August 21 and the memo of arrest showed that even at the time of the arrest he was carrying his original identity card as well as mobile phone which had been mentioned in the memo of petition. The police, however, did not produce the cellular data record of the man in their comments.

The SHC also called the Sharea Faisal SHO who informed the court that a police mobile on patrolling duty had arrested the detainee and the investigation was handed over to ASI Ali Raza. He explained that Khan was produced before a judicial magistrate on

the next day and remanded to jail custody.

The court also recorded the statement of the Sharea Faisal SHO on oath who stated that he had been the SHO of the Mehmoodabad police station on three different occasions and during that period he came to know about the family of Khan.

He stated that he personally knew that he had never been involved in any criminal case and on one occasion the detainee had informed him that he was a member of a Sindhi nationalist party.

A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Nazar Akbar after the perusal of record observed that the detainee was picked up by the LEAs on suspicion but was released later as the agencies found out that neither was there any criminal record against him nor was he found involved in any anti-state activities.

The high court observed that the Sharea Faisal police had found the detainee in a vulnerable situation and booked him in a case under the Section 23(1)(a) of the Sindh Arms Act, 2013, in which only policemen were the witnesses.

The bench observed that all such action had been taken after the filing of petition by the family members of the detainee. It observed that the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Article 4 of the Constitution to the detainee and his family were violated and therefore even after having found the detainee in jail in a criminal case registered by the Sharea Faisal Police, the petition was still maintainable.

The high court directed the operations SSP to hold an inquiry against the complainant and witnesses of the arrest of the missing person on August 21 and take stern action against the cops responsible for his agony.

The bench also quashed the criminal case against the detainee and ordered his release. The SHC remarked that it was aware of how the constitutional rights guaranteed under the constitution could be extended to help the citizen cross the river of state’s atrocities by providing him the protection of law.

The high court also directed the Mehmoodabad SHO to provide protection to Khan and his family and warned that if for the second time any LEAs detained Khan or any of his family member without assigning any reason in violation of the Articles 4, 9 and 14 of the Constitution, the court would hold the SSP, DSP and the SHO concerned responsible for the kidnapping of the said person, irrespective of the fact whoever had taken them away.

The SHC also directed the home department to install close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras near the residence of the detainee on the state expenses and ensure that they worked properly, directing the Mehmoodabad SHO to submit a report on the installation of CCTV camera.

Missing constable

The SHC also took exception to the non-recovery of a missing police constable and stopping of his salary, and directed the police authorities to file comments on his recovery and non-release of salary.

Family of Mohammad Zia, a police constable deputed at the central prison, submitted that he had been missing since July 11. They submitted that he had four children and his salary had also been stopped by the police department.

The SHC expressed concern over stopping of the constable’s salary. The high court asked the investigation officer what efforts were being made to recover the missing cop. The court directed the officer to submit comments with regard to the recovery of the missing cop and explain why his salary had been stopped on the next hearing.