RAHIM YAR KHAN: A person allegedly succumbed to his injuries on Saturday in police custody after he was subjected to severe torture at the outhouse of an area influential.

Local sources said Saleem, a resident of Qaddafi Colony, was an employee at the farmhouse of an area influential, Abdul Aziz Arain at Chak 123-P village. On February 27, Abdul Aziz, Aadil Aziz, Muhammad Raashid, Shahid and three others detained Saleem at their outhouse over suspicion of his involvement in theft and subjected him to severe torture.

According to the sources, Airport police Station House Officer (SHO) Nazar Hussain was allegedly also present at the outhouse when Saleem was tortured.

Later, the sources said, landlord and his accomplices took Saleem to the Airport police station in critical condition instead of shifting him to the hospital, and got an FIR (42/19) registered against him under section 450 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

When Saleem’s condition worsened, the police tried to shift him to the Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH), but he succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital.

After Saleem’s death, the police registered another FIR (43/19) against Arain and his accomplices to save their own skin under sections 302, 148, 149, 109 and 342 of the PPC.

District police spokesperson Zeeshan Randhawa told Dawn that DPO Umar Farooq Salamat had suspended SHO Nazar Hussain, sub-inspector Muhammad Salim, assistant sub-inspector Riaz Ahmed and Muharrar G M Fareedi of the Airport police station for misconduct.

He said that Rashid of Chak 123-P handed over Saleem to the police alleging he was involved in theft. The police, he said, registered an FIR (42/19) on the application of Rashid Randhawa.

He added that the postmortem examination of Saleem has been conducted and homicide wing of city police circle would investigate the case. All the suspects would be arrested soon, he said.

He denied the allegation that SHO was present at the outhouse when Saleem was tortured.

DIES: A man who was bitten by a rabid dog two months ago died at the Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) on Friday night.

As per hospital sources, a rabid dog bit Abdul Ghaffar, a resident of Basti Bismilahpur of Sanjarpur town of Sadiqabad, some 51kms from here, some two months back.

Initialy, Ghaffar was admitted to Sanjarpur Rural Health Centre (RHC), then he wss shifted to the Sadiqabad Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, but due to unavailability of rabies vaccine there, he was shifted to the SZMCH where he was treated and was later discharged.

Three days earlier, Ghaffar’s condition turned serious and he was brought to SZMCH again where he died on Friday.

SZMCH focal person Deputy Medical Superintendent Rana Ilyas Ahmed told Dawn that Abdul Ghaffar had been vaccinated against rabies and he died because of some other disease.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2019