KARACHI, Feb 24: After evidences of murder and criminal neglect surfaced in the case of two girls whose bodies were found from a compound under the use of the personnel of the Gadap police station, steps were taken against four policemen on Tuesday.
A case of murder was registered against the four while three of them were also booked in a case of negligence. Three of the suspects were arrested. The fourth, however, is absconding.
3 policemen arrested in girls murder case
KARACHI, Feb 24: A case of murder, involving two minor girls whose bodies were found on Monday from a veterinary hospital which was in the use of policemen, was registered against four officials of the Gadap police station on Tuesday.
Three of them were also booked for negligence. Two of the police officials, namely SHO Munir Phulpotto and Sub-Inspector Ishtiaq, were lodged in the New Karachi police station after being arrested.
The third suspect - Head Constable Rao Tahir - was placed in custody at the Sohrab Goth police station. The fourth suspect, ASI Pawan Kumar, is absconding. A preliminary inquiry found that the SHO of the Gadap police station, Mr Phulpotto, was guilty of negligence as he had delayed the registration of a case of kidnapping even though he was repeatedly approached for the same by the families of the deceased.
The Town Police Officer (TPO) of New Karachi, Shafi Rind, told Dawn: "We have conducted an inquiry and found the suspended SHO Munir Phulpotto, SI Ishtiaq and ASI Pawan Kumar guilty of negligence in the registration of an FIR in the two girls' kidnapping".
The Deputy Inspector General (Operations), Tariq Jamil, said Head Constable Rao Tahir, SHO Munir Phulpotto, SI Ishtiaq and ASI Pawan Kumar were also booked in the murder case (FIR 26/04). Pawan Kumar was absconding and raids were being conducted to arrest him, he added.
The Gadap police said three officials were booked in FIR 28/04, under section 155(c) of the Police Order 2002, which reads: "Any police officer who is guilty of any wilful breach or neglect of any provision of law or of any rule or regulation or any order which he is bound to observe or obey".
Meanwhile, the bodies of the two ill-fated girls were laid to rest at a local graveyard on Tuesday. The funeral prayers were attended by a large number of people.
The rangers and police personnel largely avoided going near the graveyard. A heavy contingent of the police was, however, on the ready near the Gadap police station. No deployment had been made in the areas which witnessed riots.
Since the morning, all shops remained closed as enraged youths erected barricades and pelted the passing vehicles with stones. They lit bonfires at several places.
The family members of the deceased, expressing dissatisfaction over the police investigation into the incident, demanded a judicial probe. "We cannot trust the inquiry report of the police. How is it possible that the police will conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident in which their colleagues are involved," Gul Sher, the father of five-year-old Sassi, said while talking to Dawn at his residence.
"We expect no miracles. We know that these policemen will soon be out on bail and will get some lucrative posting," the dejected Gul Sher remarked. The two minor girls - Hajra, 8, and Sassi, 5 - had gone missing on Feb 21.
Their disappearance was reported to the Gadap police station, the area people said, adding that the policemen declined to register a case and remained reluctant in locating the missing girls.
The recovery of their decomposed bodies had triggered violence in the area on Monday evening when people took to the streets, lit bonfires and laid siege to the police station.
"The duty officer of the police station told us that he is not allowed to register an FIR without the approval of the SHO. We contacted the SHO on his cell phone, but his guard told us that he was in the Chief Minister's House," said Sher Gul.
Sher Gul, a tailor, is now left with two children - a daughter and a son - following the murder of his youngest daughter Sassi. He said police high-handedness was evident since the day Mr Phulpotto had taken charge of the Gadap police station.
"The kind of treatment meted out to us is obvious from the fact that we have not even been provided with a copy of the FIR," he said. Shabbir Ahmed, the father of Hajra, said that a week ago one Javed Iqbal was injured while resisting some armed men.
The police refused to register an FIR in the case. Instead, they asked Mr Iqbal from where he had acquired Rs60,000, the amount snatched from him by the dacoits.
A visit to the area revealed that the abandoned structure of the three-room veterinary hospital, adjacent to the Gadap police station, was in illegal use of the area police. A gate of the police station opens into the veterinary hospital whose main gate usually remains closed.
The girls' bodies were dumped in the bushes on the premises of the hospital and blood stains were detected in the veranda as well as one of the hospital's three rooms. The area residents claimed that a buckle from a police belt was also found with blood stains. The buckle bore the number 664.
A 16-year-old cousin of the deceased girls, Kamran, said a waiter went to the hospital to serve tea to the policemen, where he felt the stench emanating from the bushes. The news spread like wildfire and people soon gathered at the police station.
Shabbir Ahmed, father of Hajra, said: "We reached the spot. The bodies were partially decomposed and a leg of Hajra was bitten by dogs. Someone pointed out blood stains in the veranda of the hospital and we went there too."
He added: "We broke open the door of three rooms. An axe, some acid bottles, liquor bottles and blood stains on the floor were found in the room belonging to a policeman Rao Tahir Rajput".
On Monday night at around 2am, the bodies were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for autopsy examinations. According to the initial findings, the girls were sexually abused.
Hajra's leg and some parts of her abdomen were eaten away by stray dogs. She had been axed to death. Sassi was shot in the head from behind. The bullet had pierced through her head, hospital sources added.
