Addl IG Khawaja to probe bribery allegation against ex-SHO

Karachi
In the case of a person missing since September 2014, the Sindh High Court on Saturday appointed Additional IG Special Branch AD Khawaja as the inquiry officer to probe allegations of bribery and corruption put forward by the missing man's father against a former Station House Officer of the Sachal police. The court has called for a report within 15 days.
The petitioner, Muhammad Shafiq, has accused Sub-Inspector Muhammad Shoaib of demanding Rs500,000 for the release of his son, Muhammad Shafi, after he was illegally detained by law enforcers on September 20, 2014. Having refused to pay the amount at the time, Shafiq submitted that his son has been missing ever since despite the passage of more than a year.
In its comments, the SHC division bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan observed the serious nature of the allegation levelled against the police officer. Appointing Additional IG Khawaja as the inquiry officer, the court told him to personally conduct the inquiry within 15 days or depute another officer not below the rank of SSP.

Detention cases
The SHC also issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers on petitions against alleged illegal detention of citizens, including government employees, by the police and Sindh Rangers.
Separate petitioners submitted that Wali Ahmed, Faizan Khan, Babar Azad, Muhammad Tauseef, Muhammad Saliheen, Muhammad Nadeem, Majidullah Khan, Tahir Hasan, Rehman Akhtar, Zeeshan Waqi, Fareed Khan, Muhammad Farooq Qureshi, Javed Saeed, Syed Madad Ali Naqvi and Umair Iqbal were picked up by the police and paramilitary personnel in raids conducts in Scheme 33, Malir, Orangi Town, Khokrapar, North Karachi, Landhi No 6, Liaqauatabad, Surjani Town, Korangi, New Karachi, Clifton and Dehli Colony areas.
Of the men, Babar Azad was a government employee, while the other detainees were private professionals who the petitioners maintained had nothing to do with crime. They prayed the court to have the detainees produced or secure their release.