GUJRAT: Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Amjad Javed Saleemi has suspended Kharian Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mian Arshad, who was booked in the murder case of a brick kiln owner allegedly in police custody on Friday.

However, Arshad’s replacement has not been announced and no arrests made so far.

The 55-year-old brick kiln owner, Arshad, was laid to rest in his native village on Saturday with a heavy contingent of police deployed in the village as well as in Kotla town to maintain law and order situation.

Meanwhile, Gujrat District Police Officer (DPO) Ali Mohsin posted Sub-Inspector Khawar Shahzad Gondal as the new station house officer (SHO) of Kakrali police station after the DPO had suspended the previous SHO, Ameer Abbas Chadhar, and moharrar of the police station on Friday after Arshad’s death at the station.

Doctors who had conducted the autopsy on Arshad’s body were yet to compile their report only after which it would be decided whether the samples collected from the body were needed to be sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency in Lahore for further examination.

A spokesman for the Gujrat police said that until the autopsy report was finalised the actual cause of death could not be ascertained. The family of the deceased had blamed police and another person for torturing Arshad to death.

Chaudhary Arshad of Chariaola village had been arrested by the Kakrali police on Thursday over an application filed by PML-Q leader Shahbaz Kakrali, the deputy convener of Kharian circle’s reconciliatory committee and a former union council nazim, over a monetary dispute of Rs800,000.

However, Arshad was found dead in the police station because of, what his family claims was, severe physical torture by police as well as the complainant, who had close ties with the Kharian DSP.

Police had booked eight people, including DSP Arshad, SHO Chadhar, an assistant sub-inspector, four other policemen and Shahbaz Kakrali, under the Anti-Terrorism Act and PPC.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2019