KARACHI: Three policemen were booked and arrested for taking a bribe from the family of a suspect involved in the mob lynching of a teenager in Bahadurabad, police said on Saturday.

SSP East Azfar Mahesar said that the Ferozabad police registered a case (FIR 245/2019) under Sections 384 (punishment for extortion) and 385 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion) against a four-member investigation team of the Bahadurabad police station.

Station Investigation Officer Farooq, Sub-Inspector Rehmat, constables Shah Faisal and Ghulam Rasool have been nominated in the case and except for Ghulam Rasool the other three were arrested, the SSP said.

He said that Bahadurabad investigation team had taken a bribe from the family of suspect Daniyal Yousuf.

The investigators took Daniyal to his house in Kokan Society, ‘forcibly’ entered the home, harassed his family members and allegedly extracted money from them.

He said that the entire police team was suspended and a case was registered against them.

Remand of lynching suspects extended

A judicial magistrate extended the police remand of five suspects in the case pertaining to alleged lynching of the teenage robbery suspect by a mob.

The police booked and detained Daniyal Yousuf, Zubair Khan, Ayaz, Anas, Shariq and Masood on Aug 17 for allegedly torturing to death 17-year-old Rehan.

The suspects claimed that Rehan was trying to rob a house within the remit of the Bahadurabad police station.

On Saturday, the new investigating officer of the case produced the suspects before the magistrate. He informed the judge that police authorities had suspended the entire team probing the teenager’s alleged killing, including the former IO.

As the judge inquired about the progress in the investigation of the case, the new IO said he was assigned the investigation of the case late on Friday and requested for extension in the suspects’ physical remand.

However, the judge took exception to failure of the officer in submitting an investigation report in the present case and remarked that the case pertained to murder, but the police officials were apparently acting in a non-serious manner.

The judge summoned the SIO and the SHO Bahadurabad on the next date to explain the delay in submitting the progress report in the case. Till then, the judge extended their physical remand for three days.

Four suspects seek pre-arrest bail

The judge also issued a notice to the IO for Aug 27 on an application moved by four alleged accomplices of the detained suspects seeking pre-arrest bail in the murder case.

The defence counsel moved applications on behalf of Shakeeb, Umair Ahmed Khan and others submitting that they had nothing to do with the present case, but the police also named them in the matter with mala fide intentions.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2019