High court asked to constitute JIT toprobe boy’s lynching

A petition has been filed with the Sindh High Court (SHC), seeking the constitution of a joint investigation team (JIT) and inclusion of the anti-terrorism law in the murder case of 16-year-old boy Rehan who was brutally killed by a mob in the Bahadurabad area last week.

The family of Rehan submitted in the petition, which was filed on Saturday, that the police were not investigating the case properly which could benefit the accused persons in the case. A counsel for the petitioner submitted that Rehan was brutally tortured by residents of Kokan Housing Society in Bahadurabad after accusing him of being a thief.

The counsel informed the SHC that Rehan was kidnapped and made hostage by Zubair, Daniyal and their friends. He was then tied up and filmed while being tortured. The court was requested to constitute a JIT to inquire into the murder of Rehan and order the inclusion of a section of the Anti-Terrorism Act in the case.

A video circulating on social media last week showed Rehan having his hands tied to a metallic grill and being questioned by Zubair, the house owner who accused him of being a thief, and others. The boy could be heard naming his alleged accomplices in the video.

Rehan's father earlier told journalists that his son worked as a butcher during Eidul Azha. He claimed that his son told him he was going to collect money for his work but never returned home.

Missing persons case

The SHC took exception to the performance of joint investigation teams (JITs) and the provincial task force dealing with the cases of missing persons and observed that little interest had been shown by the JITs and task force to trace the whereabouts of the missing persons.

Hearing a petition of Rukhsana Begum against the illegal detention of Muttahida Qaumi Movement activist Mohammad Yaseen, who has been missing since April 28, 2016, from the Clifton area, the high court observed that it was the duty of the law enforcement agencies to make vigorous efforts to recover the missing persons.

The SHC warned that appropriate orders shall be passed against the relevant officials if any negligence was found in missing persons cases. A division bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha, also took notice of the fact that the South SSP did not conduct any joint investigation team, and directed him to file a compliance report on the next date of hearing.

SSP served notice

The SHC issued a show-cause notice to the East Investigation SSP for not complying with the court order on a petition pertaining to disappearance of an employee of the Pakistan Navy.

Petitioner Rubina had filed the petition against the disappearance of her spouse Imran Yousuf, an employee of the Pakistan Navy who has been missing for the last five years. The court had directed the SSP to explain why there was a need for re-investigation of the matter when special team members had opined that the case fell under kidnapping due to a personal enmity.

The SHC directed that a case be registered against two naval officers who allegedly kidnapped the Pakistan Navy employee. The high court was earlier informed by an investigation officer that the JIT had decided to re-investigate the case as no conclusive evidence had been found against the naval officers for the kidnapping of the petitioner’s spouse.

The court directed the East Investigation SSP to submit a report on the matter on August 29.