FAISALABAD: An indigent woman alleges that police have killed her son in a staged encounter.

A senior police officer denies the allegation but says still a probe can be initiated if there is a complaint.

Narrating her ordeal, Nabeela Bibi accused police of killing Shan Ali in a staged encounter on June 17 last. She said she adopted 18-year-old Shan who was the breadwinner of the family — two sisters and three brothers — after the death of his father, Noor Mohammad. He would eke out a living by driving a rickshaw and people of his native Chak 131-JB, Loonewala, Chiniot, knew that he had never been involved in any crime, she said.

Nabeela claimed that she had no resources to fight police and even had to seek alms to arrange the boy’s burial. She said now it had become increasingly difficult for her to maintain the family. She said many people had witnessed police shifting Shan and Mohammad Javed, who also suffered bullet injuries, into a vehicle after shooting at them.

The postmortem report showed both suffered bullet injuries to their chests and lower parts of the body.

On June 17 last, police claimed that Eagle Squad constables Mohammad Afzal and Ikram were on patrol duty when they signaled two motorcyclists to stop near Radio Pakistan office in D Ground. The motorcyclists, they alleged, hit the policemen and sped towards Koh-i-Noor.

A police team led by People’s Colony SHO Abdul Ghaffar chased the suspects who opened fire on police and the officials effectively responded, police said and added that both suspects suffered injuries and breathed their last on way to hospital.

Nabeela said no police officer had bothered to order a probe into the encounter. She said the family took to the street the very next day and staged a protest demonstration against police outside the Allied Hospital but senior police officers did not move.

She demanded that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif take notice of injustice and order action against the policemen.

An eyewitness told this correspondent that both suspects had injuries on lower parts of their bodies and police ruthlessly bundled them into a vehicle that came there after more than two hours. One of the policemen stood on the wounded leg of a boy, he added.

Madina Town SP Malik Jameel Zafar said no inquiry had been initiated as the family had not submitted any application. He said police immediately shifted both the boys to hospital after they were injured in an encounter.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2016