MULTAN: The Dera Ghazi Khan police seem reluctant to arrest the police officials allegedly involved in torturing a 22-year-old man to death.

The city police station lodged an FIR No 260/20 under section 302 and 34 of Criminal Procedure Code on the complaint of Shamim Bibi, a resident of Chowk Chorhatta, against Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) officials Sub Inspector Abdul Rauf, constable Riaz, Moharrar Safdar Gujjar and Khalid Wadani.

The complainant alleged that a team of CIA police took her son Zaryab Khakhil who was an employee of Municipal Corporation into custody from his workplace on June 18. She stated that after getting the information she, along with the witnesses, went to the CIA police station where the police officials were torturing her son by giving him electricity shocks.

She stated she was forced to leave the police station and she continued to visit it on a daily basis.

She said that on June 22, she again visited the police station where her son was being tortured but she was asked to leave by police who said her son would be released the next day. She stated that the next day when she reached the police station she was informed that the condition of her son had deteriorated and he had been shifted to hospital.

“However, when I reached the hospital it was revealed that the staff of Rescue 1122 had thrown the dead body of my son outside the hospital gate while the names of the rescue staff were noted by the hospital staff,” she stated.

She alleged that the police officials killed her son by subjecting him to torture while keeping him illegal detention.

The FIR was lodged against the policemen after a good number of people including family members of the deceased gathered outside the Chief Minister Camp Office and placing the dead body on the road.

An eyewitness (who also was detained in the police station) in a video statement stated on oath that the deceased was tortured and subjected to electricity shocks. He stated that he made calls on police help lines 15 and 8787 but no one was ready to listen to him while his phone is now in police custody.

Meanwhile, a confessional statement of the deceased has gone viral on the social media in which he is admitting his involvement in three robbery incidents.

According to the postmortem report, all the organs of the deceased are normal and healthy while the specimens of various organs of the deceased have been sent for expert opinion to Lahore.

Malik Ghulam Abbas Khakhil, an uncle of the deceased, said police tortured his nephew in the police station as well as a private torture cell. He said the names of the owner and guard of the torture cell had also been provided to police who were reluctant to arrest their colleagues. He said the deceased was the only son of his mother who is a widow. He said police made the confessional video of his nephew at gunpoint.

He alleged that the district police officer and head of CIA police were protecting the suspected police officials. He said the medical officer who conducted the postmortem of the dead body did not show torture signs on the police pressure. He said police were trying to give the case colouring of suicide.

He demanded that the senior government functionaries intervene in the matter and order arrest of the police officials.

DPO Akhtar Farooq said the deceased was not nominated in any case and the CIA police also did not mention his arrest in official record.

“The accused officials have not been arrested as the allegation of torture and electric shocks have not been proved in police investigation and postmortem report. Still, an FIR has been lodged and any further action will be taken after the remaining findings of medical report will be received,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2020