ISLAMABAD: The capital police also arrested three servants of senior media person Mohsin Baig in connection with a case registered over an alleged attack on a team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) who had gone to his house to arrest him on Wednesday.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Mohammad Faisal said investigators of the case arrested the three servants of Mr Baig for attacking the FIA team.

The three were produced in court from where they were given in the police custody on a three-day physical remand, he added.

Replying to a question, the SSP said Hamza, son of Mr Baig, was not in police custody. He is wanted to the police in connection with the case and efforts are in progress to arrest him, he added.

About the injuries caused to Mr Baig, the SSP said the police received the report of his medical examination conducted in a hospital and “there is nothing in the report.”

Injuries to his face were visible when he scuffled with the FIA team outside his house, he said, adding Mr Baig was not subjected to torture in police custody and “nothing like that happened in my presence.”

Sources in the police said Mr Baig was manhandled in a room of the Margalla police station allocated to the reconciliation committee. CCTVs are installed in all the police stations of Islamabad, including lockups. However, these are not installed in the reconciliation committee rooms, they added.

A team of over a dozen people in plainclothes, not police officials, manhandled Mr Baig in the room. It may be mentioned that Mr Baig in a viral video on social media alleged that he was subjected to severe torture in the police custody.

Meanwhile, security in an around the Margalla police station were tightened and regulated entry was given to visitors coming there for different reasons, including lodging complaints and meeting police officials in connection with their cases, the sources said. Majority of them were denied entry on pretexts of unavailability of officials whom they wanted to meet.

Politicians, including Rana Sanaullah, Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, also reached the police station to meet Mr Baig. However, they were also denied entry. Besides, their calls to officers went unattended, the sources added.

Meanwhile, wife of Mr Baig filed a petition in Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking to quash the terrorism case registered against him, police sources said. In response, the chief justice of the IHC sought a report about the case from the police.

The station house officer (SHO) Margalla was directed to appear before the court with the report on Friday (today).

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2022