Brick kiln owner tortured to death in police custody

GUJRAT: Kakrali police allegedly tortured a brick kiln owner to death in detention on Friday, a day after he was taken into custody on complaint of a PML-Q office-bearer.

The death led to a protest and suspension of two police officials, including a station house officer (SHO), and registration of a case against seven police officials, including a deputy police superintendent (DSP). The district police officer also formed an inquiry committee, led by a superintendent of police (SP).

The deceased, Arshad, 55, of the Chariaola village was detained by the Kakrali police on Thursday on complaint of Chaudhry Shahbaz Kakrali, the deputy convener of Kharian police circle reconciliatory committee, PML-Q district vice president and former nazim of the Kakrali Union Council. Shahbaz had filed an application with the police against Arshad over a monetary dispute of Rs800,000.

Two police officials suspended; case registered against seven others

Arshad, who owned a brick kiln in his village, was detained by the police without registration of a case against him. Police generally do not take people into custody over monetary disputes. His family alleged that the police along with Shahbaz subjected Arshad to severe physical torture that resulted in his death at the police station. They said there were torture marks on his body.

After the death, the people from across the Kotla region of Gujrat district, including family and relatives of the deceased, reached the Kakrali Police Station. At seeing the protesters advancing towards the police station, the policemen escaped from there while leaving the body in the police station. The demonstrators besieged the building while chanting anti-police and anti-government slogans.

Gujrat District Police Officer Syed Ali Mohsin along with a police contingent reached the spot and held negotiations with the protesters.

The DPO ordered suspension of the SHO and Moharrar of the police station from service and constituted an inquiry committee headed by SP investigation Amjad Qureshi and DSP Sadar Chaudhry Saeed, DSP Sara-i-Alamgir Ramzan Kamboh as well as Kharian DSP Mian Arshad as its members. However, the protesters did not accept the inclusion of the Kharian DSP in the committee and accused him of involvement in the killing of Arshad. They alleged that the DSP had close ties with Shahbaz who had a say in the affairs of the police station.

The protesters did not let the police to shift the body from the police station to the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital (ABSTH) for autopsy until the registration of a case against the suspects. After the registration of the case against eight people, including seven police officials, the demonstrators let the police shift the body to the hospital. A police spokesman said the autopsy report would determine the cause of death.

The police registered a case against Kharian DSP Mian Arshad, Kakrali Station House Officer Ameer Abbas Chadhar, ASI Pervez Anwar, reconciliation committee convener Shahbaz Kakrali and four other cops under sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Pakistan Penal Code on report of Mazhar Iqbal, the brother of the deceased. However, no arrest could be made till filing of this report.

The Kakrali Police Station is known for its sensitivity, political interference and rivalries for the last many decades, especially due to the groups belonging to the PML-Q and PML-N. The locals have also raised question over the role of politically-motivated formation of reconciliation committees at police stations and circle level in the district after a convener of such committee has been found involved in victimisation of his rivals through the police.