Court orders FIR against Quaidabad SHO, others over youth’s murder in ‘staged’ encounter

A sessions court on Saturday ordered registration of an FIR against the Quaidabad SHO and his three subordinates over the alleged murder of youth Atif Khan in a ‘staged’ encounter.

Muhammad Naeem Khan filed an application under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) seeking directives for the police to lodge a murder case against proposed accused —Quaidabad SHO, and constables Jahangir Marwat, Iqbal Hussain and Babar Ali Rind.

Noting that since the SHO himself was named the respondent in the case, District and Sessions Judge (Malir) Abdul Razzaq directed the Malir SSP to exercise his authority under Section 551 of the CrPC to record the statement of the complainant and then lodge an FIR under the relevant penal sections.

The judge hoped that the relevant magistrate will diligently look into the progress of the investigation into the incident as well as conduct the scrutiny of the purported charge sheet.

“I will refrain from making any comments that could influence the investigation, except to say that video clips of the alleged murder of the deceased are indeed shocking and upsetting. Nevertheless, it is the task of fair and impartial investigation to explore truth after investigating the case from all possible perspectives,” the judge observed.

On July 8, the police claimed to have shot dead a suspected criminal in an exchange of fire with the personnel.

The applicant’s lawyer contended that the police officials took away the victim after a brawl between them and him. They made him sit on a motorbike and sped away and later brutally murdered him, he claimed. The counsel placed on record video clips purportedly showing the man being taken away by the proposed accused and then shot to death.

“It is a case of extrajudicial killing at the hands of the police officials, who otherwise are protectors of lives of people,” he said, adding that the accused in order to cover up their brutal act lodged a false FIR in collusion with the SHO.

The lawyer argued that besides murder charges, the incident attracted sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act because the incident created a sense of fear and insecurity among the people, who witnessed the brutal act of police.

DSP Mansoor Ali, who appeared on behalf of the Malir SSP, stated that the investigation into the matter is underway and that the IO is competent to add Section 302 of the PPC in the charge sheet if he opines that in fact the respondents were the accused.