Custodial death: SHO, head moharrir remanded in police custody

A judicial magistrate on Wednesday granted three-day police remand of the SHO and head moharrir (clerk) of the Darakhshan police station in a case pertaining to the custodial death of a suspect.

SHO Ali Raza Leghari and Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Faisal Leghari have been booked and arrested on charges of murder and illegal detention after Moiz Naseem, who was arrested in an extortion case, was found dead in the lock-up of the Darakhshan police station on the night of April 15.

The investigating officer produced the detained policemen before the judicial magistrate (South) and requested their 14-day remand in police custody for investigation.

The IO stated that the policemen are required to be investigated about the death of a suspect in the lock-up. Besides, he said he needed to obtain CCTV footage of the police station, as well as the deceased’s data related to the criminal record office (CRO).

Advocate Salahuddin Panhwar, who represented SHO Leghari, denied the allegations levelled against his client, stating that the victim was not tortured at the police station. He claimed that Clifton SP Nayyar Ali took the deceased to a private place where he was tortured to death, adding that the high-up official tried to manipulate the entire incident to save his skin and implicated the SHO and the head moharrir.

The counsel said the policeman who arrested the victim and duty officer when his custody was removed from the police station had not been named in the FIR. The magistrate remanded the SHO and head moharrir in police custody for three days with a direction to the IO to produce them on the completion of their remand.

An FIR has been registered at the Sahil police station under sections 302 (murder), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code on behalf of the state.

Honour killing

Separately, a District West magistrate remanded three suspects in police custody in a honour-related murder case.

The investigating officer produced Husain Shah, Syed Zaman and Naeem Shah before the judicial magistrate and sought their remand for interrogation. He stated that the bullet-riddled body of 40-year-old Sadiq Pathan, wrapped in a panaflex banner, was recovered from a nullah.

He said the held suspect Shah suspected the victim of having illicit relations with his wife. The judicial magistrate handed over the suspects to the police on five-day physical remand. A murder case has been lodged at the Orangi police station.