Hazara leader accuses DIG of keeping him in illegal custody

ISLAMABAD: A central leader of Province Hazara Movement (PHM) has accused a senior officer of Punjab Police of keeping him in illegal custody on a business dispute.

Addressing a press conference here at National Press Club, Deputy Coordinator of PHM, Rafiullah Shirazi accused Tayyab Cheema, a deputy inspector general of Punjab Police, of arrested him without any case and keeping him in illegal custody for 13 days.

Shirazi alleged the officer got Rs210 million cheques signed and also seized documents of vehicle and property.

Shirazi claimed Abdul Hafeez Cheema and the DIG invested Rs87 million with him in his property and he continued to pay them profit annually. However, he said last month, the two persons demanded return of their invested amount. He said that he told them that he could not make payment at once.

Shirazi alleged that October 13, a team of Punjab Police raided his office in Sector G-13 and picked him up along his servant and took them to Lahore. “I was also forced to pay ransom of Rs6 million through my two partners,” he further alleged.

Shirazi demanded the prime minister, the interior minister Sarfraz Bugti and the Punjab chief minister take notice of what has happened to him.

The DIG could not be reached for his version on the allegations. However, sources in police department rejected the allegations as baseless. They asked why Shirazi took so long to voice his allegations and why he did not lodge a criminal or judicial complaint against the DIG when he was released from the alleged custody.

Meanwhile, Senator Talha Mahmood, ex federal minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and other leaders of PHM have also condemned the incident. They also demanded the PM, interior minister and the Punjab CM take action against the accused.