RAHIM YAR KHAN: Residents of Iqbalnagar protested against the A Division station house officer (SHO) for allegedly detaining a youth illegally, torturing him and demanding bribe for his release here on Wednesday.

After the protest, Husnain Zulfiqar, 14, told the media that he was a student of Government Technical Training Institute. On March 21, he alleged that four policemen in plainclothes picked him up from his house and took him to the A Division police station where they introduced themselves as Assistant Sub-Inspector Asif, Fazal Magsi, Shakeel and Khawar Cheema. He further said that the police station driver Adnan and Zafar, a policeman terminated a few months ago following a rape case against him, held him at gunpoint and demanded Rs16,000 for sparing him the torture, but he could not afford the amount and refused.

Zulfiqar claimed that in the five days the policemen detained him, they took him daily to a “torture cell” established in Shafi Town where SHO Ghulam Dastagir tortured him by putting water in his nose. After five days, the SHO asked for Rs50,000 for his release saying he would be killed in an encounter otherwise. The boy told his family about it and after paying Rs50,000 he was released on a guarantee that he would not complain to any authority, he added.

He further said that on Tuesday some policemen went to his house and forced his father, who is an employee with the irrigation department, to sign on a blank page, he added.

When contacted, the district police chief’s spokesman Umar Saleem said that he found out from the SHO concerned that the father of Zulfiqar had submitted an affidavit to City Deputy Superintendent of Police Masood Gujjar stating that his son had levelled false allegations against police and there was no truth to whatever he said.

PRICE MAGISTRATES: Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Jamil Ahmed Jamil expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of price control magistrates and ordered them to ensure availability of utilities to people on fixed prices.

According to a press release by the deputy director public relations, Jamil recommended the magistrates register cases against shopkeepers found creating artificial shortage of utilities and charging inflated rates.

He instructed all assistant commissioners to dispatch a detailed working report of price control magistrates and monitor the auction of fruits and vegetables. There were complaints about high rates of chicken and tomato with chicken being sold at Rs300 to Rs320 per kilogramme and tomato Rs120 to Rs140 per kg in the retail market.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2017