Corpse of theft accused who jumped into ‘nullah’ recovered

Islamabad
A suspect, who escaped from the Industrial Area Police custody and jumped into a ‘nullah’ on Saturday evening, was found dead on Sunday morning.
Police have recovered the dead body and shifted it to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for post-mortem.
The family members of the deceased claimed that police tortured him to death and threw the dead body into the ‘nullah’ to twist the case. They demanded the high-ups to order lodging of an FIR against the SHO and other members of the investigation team on murder charges.
On the other hand, according to police, they have sufficient evidence to prove that the suspect escaped from police custody and jumped into the ‘nullah’.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Islamabad Mir Vais Niaz, however, suspended the station house officer (SHO) of the Industrial Area Police Station and an investigation officer for negligence in their duties as the accused of the theft case drowned into a ‘nullah’ while attempting to flee from police custody.
According to details collected from different sources, 24-year-old Salman Masih, son of Anis Masih, resident of Essa Nagri, was nabbed by Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Shahid Munir and two police constables on April 18 for allegedly stealing batteries from various areas. During preliminary investigation, he confessed to stealing batteries and keeping them at Essa Nagri — a slum in Sector I-9.
Policemen, including ASI Shahid Munir, took him to the pointed out place where he attempted to flee from police custody and jumped into a ‘nullah’ there. He could not come out from the ‘nullah’ following which navy divers were called to trace his dead body.
Assistant Commissioner Rabia Aurangzeb and the area magistrate monitored the efforts to take his dead body out from the ‘nullah’. Later, police handed over his dead body to his legal heirs after post-mortem.
Following the incident, SSP Islamabad Mir Vais Niaz suspended Industrial Area Police Station SHO Fiaz Shanwari and Investigation Officer ASI Shahid Munir for their negligence in duty.
Inspector Asjad Mehmood has been appointed as new SHO of the Industrial Area Police Station. Further investigation is underway into the matter.
Meanwhile, an FIR (No. 155/15) has been registered under Section 302/34 PPC with the Industrial Area Police Station against investigation officer ASI Shahid Munir, constables Waseem and Habibullah on the complaint of Ehsan Masih, but no arrest has been made till the filing of this report.