LHC chides IGP over prize money for motorway suspect’s arrest

By News Desk

LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on Wednesday chided the Punjab Inspector General of Police Inam Ghani over the announcement of Rs5 million prize money after the prime accused, Abid Malhi, was arrested in the motorway gang rape case.

While hearing a case regarding the alleged occupation of Waqf Property Board’s land, the LHC chief justice asked if it was justified that prizes were being announced for policemen over making arrests of culprits.

“Where do you want to take the police department? This means the police will not make an arrest until prizes are announced,” the justice remarked. “Whose duty was it to arrest Abid Malhi? Was it not the job of the police?” Justice Khan added.

The judge questioned what the police was doing because rapists were not arrested in time and proclaimed offenders were moving freely.

The LHC chief justice was referring to the announcement of a Rs5 million reward for the police by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for capturing the prime accused in the motorway gang rape case.

The chief justice also reprimanded Ghani for his department’s “failure in controlling law and order” in the province as well as the alleged involvement of police officials in “occupying properties”.

The court sought an explanation from the police chief by the next hearing regarding the alleged occupation of Waqf Property Board’s land “otherwise the court will decide the matter according to law”.

Addressing Ghani, the LHC chief justice said: [We will see] whether your appointment was made on merit.” He added that the record would be summoned.

“I will not let make the province a police state,” the judge said. “I will see how the IGP will remain at his post if the guilt proves on part of the police.”

Meanwhile, questions were raised on the veracity of the police’s version about Malhi’s arrest after the accused’s father claimed in a video message that Malhi surrendered to the police himself.

Police said they arrested Malhi on Monday from Faisalabad. However, according to the accused’s father, Malhi had called the police himself after which they arrested him from Lahore’s Manga Mandi area in front of a witness, who he named as Khalid Butt, Geo News reported. The father demanded that police release the women in his family as they had Malhi in custody now. “Abid had expressed his wish to come home. At 6:30 pm, he returned,” his father said. “Abid was sent to the Crime Investigation Agency’s (CIA) [office] in Khalid Butt’s car,” he claimed.