Members of Sahiwal victim family have met JIT head: lawyer

LAHORE: A meeting has taken place between the brothers of Sahiwal shootout victims and the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head Ejaz Shah.

This was stated by lawyer for the victim family, Barrister Ehtisham, while addressing the media, along with spokesperson for Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Gill, and Jalil and Jamil, brothers of victim Khalil, at 8-Club Road here Monday. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry was also present.

Barrister Ehtisham and Shahbaz Gill said they would stand firmly with the victim family for justice. The lawyer denied receiving any threatening call from anyone. He said the mobile phones record of CTD men had been taken into custody by the JIT members. The victim Khalil’s brothers would meet the JIT head again on Tuesday (today) noon to record their statements. Jalil and Jamil also appreciated the role of media in highlighting the killing of innocent persons in Sahiwal. Shahaz Gill said the JIT needed further time to finalise its investigation. If the officials of CTD were found guilty, stern legal and departmental action would be taken against them, he added. The incident, which caused national outrage, had resulted in the killings of four persons by a CTD team in Sahiwal on Jan 19. The deceased included three members of a family – a couple and their teenage daughter. The couple’s three minor children also received injuries in the incident.

Meanwhile, the JIT is still inconclusive about findings of the bloody incident involving the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials, despite lapse of 16 days. The JIT has also failed thus far to trace any criminal/ terrorist record of the driver of the car, Zeeshan, whom the government and the CTD top cops are linking with a terrorist group.

Following presentation of a three-page JIT report before the Lahore High Court division bench, DIG Investigations Jawad Dogar and DIG Legal Abdul Rub Chaudhry held a press briefing at Central Police Office on Monday and apprised the media about the progress of the JIT investigation into the tragic incident. The officers said the JIT has yet to finalise the investigation into the incident. The JIT will record the statements of eyewitnesses again and present its report in the court on Feb 7. DIG Jawad Dogar said the JIT was conducting investigation impartially to dig out the factual situation. He said the senior officers of CTD and district police were suspended immediately after the incident to rule out the impression about their influence on the independent inquiry. Dogar said the JIT was holding a parallel probe into the two FIRs (2/19 and 33/19, respectively) registered by the CTD in Lahore and by victim Khalil’s brother in Yousafwala, Sahiwal. The DIG told reporters that the JIT head Ejaz Shah visited the crime scene many a time and recorded statements of two eyewitnesses and family members of victim Khalil.

About the evidence collected from crime scene and sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA), DIG Dogar said that the JIT had sent four empties, two slugs, blood samples, two suicide jackets, hand grenades, the vehicles of CTD and victim family to the Agency. He said the JIT members had also collected digital video recorders (DVRs) of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at toll plazas and of the Safe Cities Authority for cross examination.

The JIT has also taken wireless log book into custody to ascertain the role of senior officers of CTD in the incident. The JIT has also been verifying the event of marriage in Burewala for which Khalil and his family were travelling from Lahore.

To a question, Dogar said the court and the JIT had not fixed any date for finalisation of the investigations, as it was a complicated and lengthy process to fix responsibility on the CTD team. The JIT would also utilise all-out resources to authenticate the link of accused Zeeshan with the terrorist group. DIG Abdul Rub Ch said the JIT got arrested six officials of the CTD and they were on judicial remand now. The JIT would complete the legal process of identification parade and get the accused persons on physical remand for their statements and to produce the weapons under their use, the DIG added. Once the weapons were recovered, the same would be sent to the PFSA. Abdul Rub said the initial JIT report, presented in the court, did not establish Zeeshan’s link with terrorists.

To a question, DIG Legal said the victim Khalil’s family has a legal right to get the investigation officers changed if they are not satisfied with the ongoing process. He said the victim Khalil’s family had also met him after the court hearing and they had expressed their willingness to appear before the JIT head Ejaz Shah and cooperate with him in the investigations.

About formation of a judicial commission, the DIG said it did not fall under their purview. To another query, DIG Dogar said the JIT has yet to ascertain the officer who had ordered to open fire at the car. He said once the weapons were recovered from the accused cops, its forensic preservation will also be ensured.