July 06, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 2, 1429

GUJAR KHAN, July 5: Criminal negligence of local police was exposed on Friday when regional police officer Nasir Khan Durrani ordered them to treat suicide case as murder and track down the killers.

On Tuesday morning, a dead body hanging from a tree right in front of the national bank’s city branch was spotted by the residents of the area.

The circumstantial evidences captured through camera by Dawn clearly showed that both the wrists of the body were tied while a black cloth was stuffed deep into the mouth of the victim. All evidences suggested that it was a murder.

All the witnesses including the investigation officer Raja Shabir, SI were unanimous in their views that the unidentified young man was forcibly strangulated and then hanged by unknown killers.

However neither the station house officer nor the DSP turned up to the crime scene and the body was shifted to the tehsil headquarters hospital. Later, it was confirmed by this reporter that the local police instead of registering a murder case, recorded the incident as suicide in the register of police station.

Despite a strong arguments presented by mediamen that how a man after stuffing his mouth with coarse cloth and tying his hands on his back can climb up a tree and hanged himself, the station house officer was adamant in his stance of terming the death a suicide.

When the regional police officer Nasir Khan Durrani was provided photographs and other solid evidences, he referred an enquiry to SSP (operations) Rawalpindi who summoned both the station house officer, inspector Sajid Malik and the IO to explain their position. The SSP after finding the arguments made by the SHO weak ordered registration of an FIR under section 302 PPC.