April 04, 2008	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 26, 1429

RAWALPINDI, April 3: A civil judge here on Thursday served notice on superintendent and deputy superintendent of Adiala jail and directed them to appear before the court and explain their position on a complaint in which it had been alleged that a death convict was tortured in the jail.

The judge, Atta Rabbani, directed the jail officials to appear before the court on April 9 and submit their comments, explaining why medical examination of Mirza Sarfaraz, a death convict, was not carried out and why an FIR was not lodged against the accused despite clear orders of the district and sessions judge (DSJ).

The DSJ has appointed the civil judge as the inquiry officer on the request of Raja Zubair Advocate, the counsel for Sarfaraz who was sentenced to death in 1993 for killing a man in Gujar Khan. His mercy petition is pending with the president.

Making superintendent, deputy superintendent and assistant superintendent respondents, the prisoner in his plea to the DSJ had alleged that he was tortured by the jail officials on February 29 apparently for not providing them gratification and not taking back a complaint filed in November last year with Saddar Bairuni police against them for torturing him.

He said the deputy superintendent had also been hurling life threats to him for not cooperating with him.

In his appeal to the IG Punjab Jails, Sarfaraz had alleged that he and other prisoners had repeatedly been tortured by the jail officials for not providing gratifications to them.

He said last November he moved the DSJ against his tormentors and the judge ordered registration of an FIR against the jail authorities after the torture was established by the doctors of the District Headquarters Hospital under the supervision of a judicial magistrate.

Despite court orders the area police had not registered the FIR rather they had been pressurising his brother to withdraw the complaint. In February he was again tortured for not taking back his case filed in November last year, he alleged in the complaint to the IG.

The jail authorities had failed to submit either their comments or medical examination report of the alleged torture victim, avoiding court directions.

The DSJ later appointed the civil judge as an inquiry officer who would hold an inquiry in the jail.

Medical report confirms torture: The medical report of a man, who was tortured to the verge of death while in police custody, on Thursday confirmed at least 15 injuries on the victim’s body.

Medical Superintendent (MS) of the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Dr Khalid Iqbal verified that the man brought to the hospital late Wednesday night was tortured by the police.

The medical superintendent said: “He (the victim) was beaten like an animal with batons. He is a well-built and healthy man, and had he been physically weak, he would have died due to the torture.”