December 11, 2006	Monday	Ziqa'ad 19, 1427

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MULTAN, Dec 10: A non-government organisation (NGO) has decided to move court seeking a case against a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and his subordinates who allegedly brutalized its staff members.

Ayesha Hussain, Pattan project coordinator, and her colleague, Amir Wasim, allegedly were beaten on Dec 1 by Athar Farooq, Shujaabad DSP, and his two subordinates, a Pattan spokesperson told a press conference on Saturday.

He said that the two activists were slapped and beaten publicly when they questioned police officials manning a police blockade on Shujaabad bypass for their highhandedness with commuters

The NGO and other rights groups have been trying to lodge an FIR against the police officials but without a success. The NGO spokesperson said that the regional police officer had never returned their calls while the district police officer had also been keeping a mum over the incident.

He said that police had pressured the NGO to withdraw the application submitted at the City Police Station in Shujaabad a day after the beating.

He said that police had threatened them with false cases if they moved court.

“The NGO demands the registration of the FIR against the police officials who tortured me and my colleague. This is the time that the government should show its commitment to women’s protection,” Ms Hussain said.

“A medico-legal examination conducted by doctors at Shujaabad Tehsil Hospital confirms that we were tortured,” said Ms Hussian, urging the government to take decisive measures to eliminate police torture from the country. She said they would resist the violation of laws by security officials.

Representatives of bar associations, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Straightening Participatory Organisation, South Punjab NGOs’ Network Forum, Fiza Organisation, Awaz Foundation, Human Rights Lawyers’ Group and Women Councillors’ Network were also present at the press conference. They announced that they would hold a rally outside the DPO office on Monday to protest against the police torture and highhandedness.

Fayyaz Ahmed, assistant police officer, who is inquiring the matter, said that he could not meet both parties because he was in Lahore. He said that there were two types of medico-legal examination, and on the basis of one of them, an FIR could be lodged. He if the NGO had a medico-legal report, police would lodge the FIR without any hesitation.

Pattan officials said that they had contacted the police station for a medical examination, but they refused to help them and hospital officials could not conduct the medical examination without police intervention, so they asked the area magistrate for medical examination who ordered the hospital staff to conduct the medical examination.

He said that Section 154 of the Criminal Penal Code, police was bound lodge an FIR on an application and police could not probe a matter before lodging any FIR.