Judicial inquiry of disturbing videos in police custody ordered

PESHAWAR: A judicial inquiry of the disturbing videos of humiliation of a young man in police custody has been ordered as protests against the abuse of power by the cops continued on the second consecutive day on Thursday.

Mansoor Aman, the district police officer Kohat, was posted as the new senior superintendent of police (SSP) Operations on Thursday. His predecessor Zahoor Babar Afridi was closed to Central Police Office late Wednesday night.

The station house officer of Tehkal, Shehryar, was also suspended after the videos of abusing those in custody in his area went viral. An assistant sub-inspector and two constables have been arrested and a case lodged against them.

A large number of people from Tehkal as well as workers of political parties gathered outside the Khyber Pàkhtunkhwa Assembly on Thursday to protest the police torture and humiliation of Radiullah alias Amir, who is said to be an Afghan national. They blocked the road and chanted slogans against the policemen involved in misuse of power.

The videos first triggered an uproar on social media and later people started taking to the streets in different parts of the province. The protestors also attacked a motorcyclist who was passing through to go to his office. Police had to baton charge the protestors when they started attacking people after which they dispersed.

Meanwhile, Afghan Consul General in Peshawar Najeebullah Ahmadzai called on the IGP Sanaullah Abbasi to know about the details of the case. The IGP informed the Afghan officials about the measures taken in the case against those involved. Many political figures from the ruling and opposition parties visited the residence of Amir and met with his brothers to express their sympathies and support. A number of politicians also expressed their anger publicly, criticising the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Khyber Pàkhtunkhwa Police for abuse of power at police stations and private places of some of the infamous policemen.

Radiullah, commonly known as Amir, was arrested by the police a few days ago after his video went viral on social media in which he abused the senior and junior police officers. Many criticised the language he used in the video against the police force.

On Wednesday morning, a video of Amir went viral on different social media forums in he was stripped and humiliated by three or four policemen. This made thousands of people on social media furious, who demanded an immediate and strict action against all those involved.

They said this brutality may destroy the life of the young man as well as his family for which the police force will be responsible. Another video went viral in the afternoon, causing further uproar.

A brother of Amir said the police came in almost a dozen vehicles and picked him up. He added that action should be taken against all those who misused their authority and insulted Amir and his family.

Many on social media asked the KP IGP and police chiefs of other provinces to check all the lockups and private places, especially in areas of the cops who are infamous for misuse of power due to backing by senior officials, and stop abuse of power, torture and humiliation of the public if found in any district or town.

Meanwhile, two-member bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC) took strong notice of the humiliation of a young man by police and directed Inspector General of Police (IGP) to conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident.

Justice Qaisar Rasheed in his remarks said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police had a rich history of sacrifices in the war against terror but the whole department was earning a bad name due to some black sheep.

The honourable judge told the IGP and the capital city police officer, who were present in the court, that the humiliation of young man at the hands of some police officials had shaken our society and deeply shocked the nation. “What are you doing and in which direction is your department moving?” he asked the police chief. The bench comprising Justice Qaisar Rasheed and Ijaz Anwar heard the case pertaining to the video in which some of the police officials of Tehkal Police Station were seen torturing and disgracing a man named Aamir Tehkalay and also filming the incident.