GUJRAT: Jhelum district police officer on Sunday suspended Sadar police station in charge and four other policemen from service for their alleged involvement in the killing of a dacoity suspect who was allegedly in their custody since March 1.

Sadar police SHO Inspector Malik Asif, Sub-Inspector Ali Akbar Shah and three other officials had earlier been booked by Sara-i-Alamgir police under sections 302 and 364 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) after body of Sajid Bhatti of Nothia Qureshian was found near River Jhelum.

According to Bhatti’s father, who is complainant in the case, his son was picked on March 1 by Sadar police when he was going somewhere with his wife in connection with a dacoity case.

Blaming the police for his son’s killing, the complainant had also alleged that his other son, Mazhar Bhatti, was also in illegal custody.

DPO Abdul Ghafaar Qaisarani, suspending the SHO and others from service also ordered an inquiry into alleged custodial killing. He assigned the probe to Jhelum city circle DSP. No arrest has been made so far.

Meanwhile, the body of the victim was handed over to his family after an autopsy at the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital.

KILLED: A man was killed and two others were injured when a speeding car plunged into a ditch near Chak Ikka on the GT Road on Sunday.

Rescue 1122 officials said a car (LEA 7702) was on its way to Rawalpindi when it plunged into a ditch due to the over speed, resulting in instant death of one of the car occupants. Two other men were critically injured in the accident.

A Rescue 1122 team recovered a body from the badly damaged car. The team also shifted the injured to hospital where their condition was said to be critical.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2017