ISLAMABAD: A local sessions judge has ordered the city police to strictly follow the law and arrest Bahria Town developer Malik Riaz and his son Ali Riaz in a land grabbing case and complete the investigation in the case “within 20 days positively”.

In passing the order on Tuesday in the case filed by a citizen last month, Additional Sessions Judge Shahrukh Arjumand stated that facts on records “lead me to the conclusion that some special concessions were exercised in favour of the nominated accused for reasons best known to the local police”.

Citizen Nisar Ahmed had to approach a city court to get his FIR registered with the Nilore police station. Nisar alleged in the FIR that Malik Riaz and “his henchmen” grabbed his land measuring 506 kanals in Moza Tumair, in rural Islamabad, in 2012.

Charges he filed against the accused related to PPCs 389 (putting person in fear of accusation of offence, in order to commit extortion); 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon); 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common objective); 420 (cheating and dishonesty); 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees); 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) and 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment).

In his order the judge noted that several columns of the interim challan that police submitted had been left blank, giving no details of the accused or the witnesses of prosecution. “The said conduct in no way is permissible as the law on this subject is very much clear regarding process of investigation, arrest of accused and submission of interim challan in the court concerned,” it stated.

“It seems police is proceeding with the case in a manner alien to the criminal justice system,” the order read. “Till date no effort has been made to arrest the nominated accused or to interrogate them so as to bring the true facts on record.”

In the inquiry that Superintendent of Police Rural conducted also the nominated accuseds have not appeared to bring their stance regarding the allegations of complainant/petitioner, the order stated.

However, reference was made about the written statement tendered by accused Ali Riaz Malik through his counsel and interrogation of two other accused, Shahid Mehmood and Nasir Mehmood already confined in Centre Jail Rawalpindi in a 2013 case.

But the two were not formally arrested in the case registered on the complaint of Nisar Ahmed, nor any application was submitted to the magistrate for taking their physical remand which is a normal practice, the order noted.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2016