LAHORE: The Badami Bagh station house officer (SHO) was suspended from service on Thursday after a video of a suspect in custody being subjected to physical torture and inhuman treatment went viral on social media.

According to a handout, Chief Minister Parvez Elahi who is in London, took notice of the incident and sought a report from the capital city police officer (CCPO) who suspended the SHO from service.

Inspector General Police (IGP) Faisal Shahkar also took notice of the incident and directed the CCPO to submit a report.The video shows that a man identified as Ashfaq alias Chan Gujar is lying on the floor and three to four policemen are torturing him.

One of the policemen said to be the Badami Bagh SHO asks the suspect to say that he is a dog and also orders him to bark. The suspect having no other option obeys the instruction of the SHO, the video shows. The other policemen can also be seen kicking and thrashing the suspect.

City Division SP operation Sarfraz Virk told Dawn that the SHO was suspended from service as the video emerged on social media.

He said Chan Gujar was arrested in a drug related case early on Thursday and two cases were registered against him including drug peddling and having illegal weapons.

He said the suspect was a record holder and 16 cases were registered against him in different police stations of the city including drug, kidnapping, aerial firing, illegal weapon and attempt to murder sections.

He said an inquiry was ordered against the SHO and other members of the morning shift of the police station.

Mr Virk showed a video and a picture of the suspect in the lock-up who was wearing different clothes and said that the policemen were denying the charge of torture.

He said the inquiry would reveal whether this act took place in a police station or not and he was personally looking into the matter.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2022