KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday directed the inspector general of police to appear before the chief justice along with progress report about the lynching of two telecommunication workers in Machhar Colony.

The SHC registrar Abdul Razzaq sent a letter to the IGP, DIG-South and SSP-Investigation asking them to appear in person before Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh on Tuesday (today) at 1pm with a progress report.

The letter said that the news regarding lynching of two employees of a telecom company in Machhar Colony was reported in electronic and print media.

On Oct 27, Ayman Javed from Thatta and Ishaq Mahar from Naushahro Feroze had gone to the area to check mobile tower signals. However, they were beaten to death by a mob which took them as child kidnappers.

Cabinet approves Rs5m compensation for victims’ families

Cabinet sets up body

The provincial cabinet also took up the issue of lynching of innocent persons. IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon briefed the cabinet about the incident.

The cabinet was told that 15 people identified in the CCTV footage had been arrested. An investigation is under way and the culprits would be brought to book.

The cabinet approved Rs5 million compensation for each of the two victims and formed a committee comprising Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, Murtaza Wahab, Sadiq Memon, the IGP and home secretary to give its recommendations.

The committee would also assess the need for the creation of a ‘Mob Management Police Force’ to handle such cases. The force would be imparted relevant training and equipped with the required equipment/arms.

Four suspects remanded

An antiterrorism court on Monday remanded four suspects – held for allegedly lynching two telecom workers over suspicion of being kidnappers in the Machhar Colony – in police custody for interrogation.

Police arrested Muhammad Farooq, Rabul Islam, Faisal and Abdul Ghafoor and booked them along with 11 others on the charges of premeditated murder, arson, violence and terrorism.

On Monday, the investigating officer of the case produced them before the administrative judge of the antiterrorism court to seek their physical remand in police custody for interrogation and investigation.

The IO claimed that during initial interrogation all the suspects had disclosed their involvement in the incident of inciting public and torturing the victims, who had visited a desolate area to examine and fix the antenna of a mobile phone tower near the TCF School.He requested the judge to grant 14-day physical remand of the suspects in police custody for interrogation, completion of investigation and other legal formalities.

However, the judge granted one-week physical remand of the suspects in police custody. The IO was directed to produce them on the next date along with an investigation report.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2022