ISLAMABAD: The capital police allegedly held two teenagers in illegal detention for hours and tried to get a confessional statement from them that they were robbers, the victims and officials in the police told Dawn.

The teenagers were released after their families approached the interior ministry.

Zohaib Khan, 15, said he along with his friend Asfandyar came to Islamabad from Rawalpindi on Sunday night and disembarked from the metro bus at the Chaman station. He said at around 11pm, they were intercepted by a vendor near G-9 Markaz who called the police.

He said two policemen took them to the Karachi Company police station where they were body searched. He said their mobile phones and cash along with a pistol-shape lighter were seized.

He alleged that the police asked them to give a confessional statement that they were planning a robbery. On their refusal, the boys were allegedly striped and subjected to torture.

Waqar Imran, the father of Zohaib, told Dawn: “After my son did not return home we tried to contact him on his mobile phone but it he did not attend the calls. Later, we approached his friends and relatives to trace his whereabouts. Besides, the Rawalpindi and Islamabad police were also contacted.”

However, when all efforts remained unsuccessful, a complaint was lodged with Rescue 15. “After repeated attempts, a call made on Zohaib’s mobile phone was attended by an unknown man who started interviewing us and avoided giving his details and then disconnected the call.”

Later, the family used its contacts and located Zohaib through his mobile phone near the Karachi Company police station.

“On Monday evening, we visited the Karachi Company police station and found the boys there with bruises on their bodies,” he added.

Mr Imran said the police told the families that they had recovered a toy pistol from the possession of the boys and were initiating legal action against them.

The family members then approached Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on whose directions the boys were released after 18 hours.

When contacted, SSP (operations) Sajid Kiani told Dawn that he had directed SP Saddar Zeeshan Haider to probe the matter and fix responsibility, if any.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2017