CHINIOT: City police registered a case against a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), his brother, a lawyer and 12 others for torturing Jamaat-i-Islami district emir Muhammad Islam and stripping him on the road.

The complainant alleged that DSP Legal Afzal Sher Kalru, his brother Ali Sher Kalru and lawyer Muhammad Akram Khokhar along with their armed accomplices tortured him on the road and stripped him naked.

According to the first information report (FIR), Islam was going to the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital to meet victims of a traffic accident on Wednesday night when the accused mentioned above dragged him down from his motorcycle and started beating him up with sticks and rods.

He claimed that they were doing the violence for favouring a widow whose house was occupied by them some months back. He alleged they stripped him naked and made a video of him.

He alleged the accused snatched Rs50,000 and a mobile phone from him and tried to kidnap him in their car but the passers-by rescued him. He said the accused had occupied the house of a widow in Mohallah Chah Jehangiriwala some months ago and he had raised his voice for her.

Earlier, a large number of JI workers from various districts reached the JI Chiniot office against the incident.

The senior leadership of the JI, led by Punjab emir Javed Kasuri, Punjab Youth wing president Jibran Butt and Punjab General Secretary Nasrullah Goraya, met District Police Officer Imran Ahmad Malik and the FIR was registered.

Addressing the media persons at the District Press Club, Javed Kasuri said the Punjab government had failed to protect the lives and properties of the people and the province was looking like a police state. He said the criminals were freely for committing thefts, robberies, kidnaps, gang rapes but police were busy in giving protocols to corrupt politicians.

He demanded Chief Minister Parvez Elahi to purge police of such black sheep and award punishment to the people who were misusing their authority.

Narullah Goraya said the JI workers across the province were upset on hearing the news of torture of Muhammad Islam but they were told not to take the law into their hands.

Meanwhile, DPO Malik transferred DSP Legal Afzal Sher Kalru and sent him to Police Lines. He also constituted a team to arrest the persons involved in the attack on the JI district emir.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2022