May 7, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, May 6: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the district police officer, Rawalpindi, to conduct an inquiry to determine if the death of a 13-year-old girl, Samina, had occurred due to torture or not.

Chief Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmed had taken suo motu notice of the matter, when it was brought to his notice by an advocate, Zulfikar Bhutta. He also directed the DPO to submit a report.

The DPO, Syed Marwat Ali Shah, on Tuesday appeared before a bench, comprising three judges, and said there was no evidence that the girl had been tortured to death. He said police investigations showed that the girl had been an epileptic since her childhood. She was brought to Rawalpindi from Sindh by her parents for treatment, and was staying with her relatives.

The death was the result of a head injury she suffered when she fell from third-storey stairs. Her relatives, father and notables of the areas testified that the cause of death was a head injury she sustained when she fell during a fit of epilepsy.

The DPO said the girl was admitted to hospital on April 13 and she died on April 20. He said the autopsy indicated bruises, not burns. Some reporters, he said, misread the word, bruises, into burns.

The chief justice asked the police officer if he had conducted the investigation himself. The officer answered in the negative and said the SHO of the area had been assigned the duty. He said he had been monitoring the investigation on daily basis.

The CJ said the district police chief should have conducted the investigations personally to ascertain the facts, as low-rank policemen could not be trusted.

The DPO, however, insisted that he had no reason to disbelieve his subordinates, and that the statement of the victim’s father did not reflect any suspicion.