FAISALABAD: The police high command has directed two senior officers to explain away their failure to prevent registration of an encounter case against two boys who had been brutally shot at by a policeman for carrying toy pistol.

People’s Colony SHO Faryad Cheema opened fire on two boys on Susan Road when they were taking selfies for Facebook profiles this past Monday. Farhan suffered chest injury and died after some time while Fahad was injured.

City Police Officer Afzaal Kausar said he had issued a letter of explanation to the SP and ASP of People’s Colony police and asked them how Cheema registered a fake case against the boys by declaring them robbers.

Sources said Regional Police Officer Ahsan Tufail and the CPO had come to know that the contents of the case were fake. They said the officers then had a murder case registered against the SHO and three unidentified policemen.

Sources said that immediately after targeting the boys, the SHO informed senior officers that he had injured a ‘robber’ in an encounter and one of his accomplice escaped. The SHO claimed that some security guards were witness to this encounter and police had also seized a pistol and live bullets.

Instead of verifying the facts, sources said, the police officers passed on the story to the high command but they had to retract it after the disclosure about fake encounter.

Without wasting any minute, the SHO registered a case against the two boys under sections 353, 324 of PPC. Sources said a press release issued by the CPO spokesman and the contents of the FIR did not match. The FIR said robbers opened fire on police who retaliated and the robber was injured in firing by his fellow.

The CPO said a three-member committee comprising SSP (investigation) and SPs of Lyallpur and Madina towns had been constituted for free and fair investigation. He said challan would be submitted to court within 14 days.

On Wednesday, the People’s Colony police obtained a five-day physical remand of former SHO Faryad Cheema after police produced him in court of judicial magistrate Mohammad Asif.

The Elite Force personnel stopped reporters from entering the courtroom that led to exchange of words. As officials shoved cameramen in a bid to stop them from filming the accused SHO, both sides scuffled. Later, cameramen and reporters blocked traffic in front of the CPO office and demanded suspension of the policemen who thrashed the media persons and stopped them from performing their duty.

Published in Dawn June 26th, 2015

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