IGP told to conduct inquiry against Rao Anwar, other cops

The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the provincial police chief to conduct an inquiry against Malir SSP Rao Anwar and other police officers who have been accused by a petitioner of harassing citizens and registering false cases.
The directives came on a petition filed by Shakir Awan, Sabir Awan and others against harassment and registration of false cases by the cops.
The petitioners have submitted that police personnel of Malir City and Sharafi Goth were harassing them and threatening to book them in false cases if they refused to pay extortion money and other bribes.
On their request for an inquiry against SSP Rao Anwar and other officers of the Malir police, the SHC issued orders to provincial police chief AD Khowaja to conduct an inquiry into the citizens’ accusations and submit a report to the court.
Ubaid K2’s plea
The SHC admitted for hearing an appeal filed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement activist Ubaidur Rehman alias K2 against his conviction in an illegal weapons and explosives case and issued a notice to the Sindh prosecutor general.
Ubaid alias K2 was sentenced to 14 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court that found him guilty of possessing illegal weapons and explosive materials.
He was arrested from the MQM’s headquarters, Nine Zero, on March 11, 2015, in a raid conducted by the paramilitary force, Sindh Rangers.
Ubaid is accused of involvement in several murders. During his detention, he disclosed that he had concealed a huge weapons cache at APWA College which was later dug up from the college’s ground.
Jail officials’ plea
The SHC directed the Crime Branch’s additional IG and others to submit a record of the investigation against suspended prison officials who have sought a transfer of the probe against them by the Counter-Terrorism Department with charges of abetment, disappearance of evidence and harbouring criminals.
The petitioners, Abdul Rehman Sheikh, an assistant superintendent prison, and others who were booked for the jailbreak by two Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militants, contend that the CTD had falsely implicated them in a new FIR pertaining to disappearance of evidence and harbouring criminals in prison.
Their counsel, Aamir Mansoob Qureshi, questioned the CTD’s authority to register a case against the petitioners, submitting that articles recovered during the search operation by the Sindh Rangers in prison were mentioned in the ‘mashirnama’ prepared by the Rangers and the same were auctioned as per prison rules.
He submitted that the petitioners had nothing to do with the offence as they were in judicial custody at the time and, thus, could not be tried for the offence.
The lawyer submitted that CTD officials were harassing the petitioners despite submission of a charge sheet.