Criminal case against Haripur SHO, constable over death of elderly person

HARIPUR: A criminal case was registered against the station house officer, additional station house officer and a constable for allegedly subjecting an elderly man to torture, which led to his death.

According Abdullah, a resident of Sector No 2 Kangra Colony, Faisal Khan, the additional SHO Kotnajibullah Police Station, along with his subordinate staff, reached their plot where they were using excavator for its leveling on Monday.

Abdullah said the ASHO, on the complaint of Waqar Shah, with whom the complainant (Abdullah) has litigation over the same plot till few months back, arrested him and his father Ashiq Hussain, 65.

He added that the policetook them to the police station where they used abusive language against them and tortured them. During the alleged torture, the complainant said, his father's condition got aggravated.

He was shifted to Rural Health Centre Kotnajibullah and later to District Headquarters Hospital Haripur but he could not survive. The news of death of elderly Hussain sparked anger among the residents. They staged protest against SHO and his subordinate staff outside the police station.

However, the protesters dispersed on the assurance of Haripur District Police Officer Shehzad Nadeem Bukhari for taking legal action against the SHO and his subordinates. According to hospital sources, the cause of death of Ashiq Hussain was heart attack and not police torture.

Meanwhile, the officials of Kotnajibullah Police Station denied the charges, adding that the man was brought after registration of case under Section 107 of the Pakistan Penal Code. He suffered a heart attack and died at the hospital, they added.

On the direction of Haripur DPO, a criminal case was registered against SHO Khan Afsar, ASHO Faisal Khan and Constable Dildar under Section 322, 109/34 of the PPC. DSP Saddar Ishtiaq Ahmed was appointed as an inquiry officer.