HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Tuesday warned Dadu senior superintendent of police to come up with concrete suggestions for the recovery of a missing person who remained incommunicado for two years.

The division bench comprising Justices Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro and Fahim Ahmed Siddiqui passed the order on a constitutional petition filed by Suleman Bhand, brother of the missing person Abdul Ghafoor Bhand and adjourned the matter to April 25. Suleman was represented by Ishrat Lohar advocate.

Dadu SSP Hyder Raza told the court that the missing person’s wife had voluntarily recorded a statement before police, Citizens-Police Liaison Committee officials and some notables in which she had levelled serious allegations against her in-laws but later she retracted her statement before the judicial magistrate concerned. She did so under pressure of her in-laws, he said.

Mr Lohar strongly contested the SSP’s contention and argued that there were in fact serious allegations against police who had lodged a “fake” FIR against the petitioner and requested the court to suspend operation of the FIR (37/19) lodged at B-section police station in Dadu.

He filed a statement along with annexure as well as two digital versatile disks which were made part of court record and their copies were supplied to additional advocate general Sindh.

He said that Bhand’s wife Benazir was detained at police station and forced to record her video statement which was then leaked by police.

She was also threatened. He also provided a copy of March 27 order passed by civil judge and judicial magistrate-I Dadu regarding her statement which said she was produced before the magistrate in his chamber for recording her statement.

He said that she threw her dupatta at the feet of the magistrate and told him she was compelled to record her statement under Section 164 CrPC to implicate her husband’s brothers.

She stated that she was living in the house of her in-laws and they were not involved in the crime.

The missing person Abdul Ghafoor Bhand was a cattle trader who went missing on Jan 7, 2016. According to his brother, Ghafoor was carrying Rs250,000 cash and wearing a golden chain and a ring that day. He requested the court to direct respondent police officials to recover his brother whose FIR was lodged on the directives of Dadu sessions judge immediately after he went missing.

During hearing of the case on June 9, 2016, the petitioner’s counsel had alleged that Dadu DSP Rasool Bux Siyal had demanded Rs200,000 for the recovery of Ghafoor. According to May 31, 2018 court order, SSP’s progress report in the case mentioned that something had emerged in the case which suggested that DSP Siyal had abducted Bhand at the instigation of his opponents.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2019