LARKANA: Larkana Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdullah Shaikh on Sunday suspended a station house officer (SHO) and constituted an inquiry team after a teenage suspect died in his custody and the bereaved family alleged that he was tortured to death.

Kashif Ali Shah, 17, and his younger brother, Rameez Ali Shah, were arrested at around 3pm in a shoplifting case after Abdul Fatah Siyal, Abdul Ghaffar Siyal and Abdul Jabbar Siyal reported the matter at the Illahi Bukhsh Siyal police station.

SHO Iqbal Kandhro claimed that the suspects were arrested in Faridabad village with the help of a tracker, who followed their footprints.

Kashif and Rameez underwent an interrogation at the police station, their family members said, adding that they heard cries of Rameez as if he was being subjected to torture. He was released a little later, they said.

The victims’ cousins, Kamran Shah, Aamir Shah and Tehzeeb Shah told reporters that some policemen brought Kashif to the village at about 4:30pm and told them that he was suffering from some health problem. “We rushed Kashif to the Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, they said.

Larkana SSP Tanveer Tunio and other police officers visited the hospital while a post-mortem examination of Kashif’s body was under way. He assured the bereaved family of justice, saying that appropriate action would be taken against any policeman found involved in the alleged custodial death. He told them that the FIR would be registered according to their version and a fair investigation would be ensured.

Taking notice of the incident, DIG Abdullah Shaikh suspended and demoted SHO Iqbal Kandhro and some of his subordinates. He constituted an inquiry team headed by DSP Abdul Quddus Kalwar to look into the matter.

SSP Tunio quoted the SHO and his team members as claiming that “one of the two suspects tried to commit suicide and we immediately shifted him to the CMCH, where he died”.

He, however, stated that further investigation and medical reports would establish whether Kashif was tortured to death in custody or he committed suicide.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2018