FAISALABAD, Oct 7: Additional District and Sessions Judge Raja Pervez Akhtar has directed the prosecution to ensure submission of challan against suspended SP (investigation) Abdullah Khalid and other accused policemen within a week.

The policemen are being tried on the allegations of illegal custody of Sonia Naz’s husband Asim Yousaf.

The court issued these orders during hearing of the pre-arrest bail application, moved by accused Abdullah Khalid, which came up for confirmation on Friday.

The court inquired from Faisalabad SP (Investigation) Rana Tauqeer Hayat about the pace of the investigation and reasons for non-submission of the challan.

SP Tauqeer told the court that the case had been registered on the basis of the findings and recommendations of the one-man tribunal of District and Sessions Judge Abdul Waheed Khan, which testified that Asim Yousaf was illegally detained and later allowed to escape the police custody.

He further submitted that apart from the tribunal’s recommendations, some independent witnesses confirmed in their statements that Asim remained in police custody in the motor registration scandal.

The prosecution strongly opposed the bail concession to SP Abdullah and argued that it should be cancelled so that the process of the challan completed after formally arresting him in the case. The court said: “Let the challan of the case be completed and the fate of the confirmation of the bail decided after submission of the challan before the competent court.” The proceedings were adjourned till Oct 14.

Arshad Ali Warraich and Nazeer Ahmad Sindhu appeared as the accused policeman’s counsel.

Master plan: A master plan will be chalked out for the uplift, beautification and modernization of the city.

This was stated by newly-elected city district nazim Rana Zahid Tauseef while speaking to this correspondent here on Friday.

He said both rural and urban areas of the district had been facing identical problems like sewerage, water supply, streetlights, roads, pollution and transportation. He said special committees comprising nazims and councillors would be constituted for the monitoring of development works and tasks of the government officials so that the people’s problems could be resolved.

He alleged the government highups, including top rankers of the provincial hierarchy, adopted all negative tactics to give him a defeat. His rival candidate had exercised all powers and government machinery in the election campaign.