KARACHI: A young man held on charges of possessing drugs died in the custody of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) in its lock-up under controversial circumstances on Saturday, officials said.

The ANF, however, claimed that the 21-year-old suspect committed suicide by hanging himself in the washroom of the lock-up in its Gulshan-i-Iqbal police station.

The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where doctors sent it to a morgue until formation of a medical board under the supervision of a judicial magistrate for a proper examination and post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of his death.

Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said that the body of Ali Akbar was brought to the JPMC by the ANF at 9:30am. The ANF officials said he died of ‘hanging in custody’.

The body was kept at the morgue until a judicial magistrate issued directives of a custodial death board.

According to ANF officials, Ali Akbar was arrested on Aug 4 with 9.6 kilograms of hashish and a case (FIR 25/2022) was registered against him.

On Aug 5, the ANF produced the suspect before a judicial magistrate (Malir), who remanded him in ANF custody for one day. He was taken to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for a Covid- test and other medical check-up and subsequently he was brought to the ANF police station in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.

They said that the suspect with the help of his drawstring and bedspread hanged himself in the washroom of the lock-up. A sentry found him dead at about 7:30am. He was immediately taken to a nearby private hospital on main University Road near Safari Park, but doctors referred him to the JPMC. Doctors at the health facility pronounced him dead on arrival.

The body was shifted to the mortuary of the Chhipa charity on Sharea Faisal until an inquiry was initiated under Section 176 of the criminal procedure code (inquiry by magistrate into cause of death).

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2022