Cops accused of beating labourers, taking bribe

LAHORE
Four cops of Mozang operations police allegedly arrested five labourers, manhandled them and took Rs 9,500 bribe from them in a raid on May 21.
The police registered FIR-348/15 against the labourers for gambling when they failed to give more bribe to the cops. The accused included Jamshed Siddique, Jabbar and Labha. Jamshed Siddique is a tailor, Jabbar works in a shoe factory and Labha is a rickshaw driver. They claimed they were playing cards and had nothing to do with gambling.
Jamshed told The News that he was sitting with his friends at the rooftop of a shoe factory in Old Mazang Adda at around 1am when four cops including SI Waris, Head Constable Liaqat and Constable Sohail Khan all in civvies led by an unidentified man appeared there and asked him and his friends to surrender and hand over all the belongings to them. We handed over Rs 4,500 in cash and three cellphones to the policemen, he said and alleged that the cops slapped and thrashed them with kicks and punches.
The policemen took them to Mozang Police Station and allegedly asked each of them to pay Rs 3,000 more, if they wanted to free. The labourers appealed to the cops to let them go because they were not gamblers, but SI Waris registered a case against them and locked them in a lockup. On Friday morning, a constable took them to an area magistrate for bail after getting Rs 5,000 from them. The labourers alleged that a constable deployed at the lockup got Rs 200 from them.
The constable who took them to the magistrate had tied them with a rope instead of handcuffs. The cop took the accused in a rickshaw and its fare was paid by the accused.
Police have yet to return Rs 4,500 and three cellphones to the accused. The labourers appealed to the CCPO for an inquiry into the matter by a senior police officer.
Talking to The News, Constable Suhail Khan denied the allegations and said the police arrested the gamblers and took legal action against them.