January 27, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 26, 1426

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MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 26: Ten officials of the AJK police — including an inspector, a head constable and eight constables — were stripped of their responsibilities and sent to the Police Lines on Thursday till the completion of a judicial inquiry into their alleged involvement in a murder case, Dawn learnt from sources on Thursday night.

The accused identified as Inspector Nisar Yousaf, head constable Mazhar and constables Anjum Sultan, Wasim, Aqeel, Aslam, Ehsan, Rashid Mahmood, Abdul Haq and Shahzad Iqbal were serving in the investigation branch of the southernmost Bhimber district and a murder case was registered against them by the Islamabad police on the complaint of a woman, Bushra, wife of Farooq Aziz.

The complainant, according to media reports, had alleged that these officials came to her house (near Sihala) in a police vehicle on Oct 2, shot her husband dead, put his body in a van and drove away. Besides, they also took her husband’s motorcycle and some cash. They later declared that Farooq had died in a police encounter.

AJK police sources told Dawn that Inspector Nisar Yousaf had already lodged an FIR (No 112) in the Barnala police station (district Bhimber) on Oct 9 in which he had stated that Farooq and an unidentified accomplice, who were on a motorcycle, had fired gun shots on a police picket near Jand Peer Bela.

The police retaliated as a result of which Farooq was killed but his accomplice managed to escape. His body was later handed over to his father-in-law after the post-mortem, the FIR added.

According to sources, Bhimber’s district magistrate had ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident on Jan 24 with Raja Arshad Mahmood, extra-assistant commissioner appointed as inquiry officer. The inquiry was to be completed within 14 days.

On being contacted by Dawn, AJK Inspector General Police Shahid Hasan said action would be taken in the light of the findings of the judicial inquiry. “If the police officials are found to be at fault, we will not spare them,” he said.