LAHORE: Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Shariq Jamal was found dead in a rented flat in DHA early on Saturday.

Mr Jamal, who belonged to Peshawar, was living in a flat in DHA where he was found unconscious and was taken to the National Hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Nishtar Town police shifted the body to Jinnah Hospital mortuary where the doctors performed autopsy and his body was handed over to his family on Saturday afternoon.

The deceased’s wife and daughter also approached the hospital and refused to carry out any legal action.

A police official on condition of anonymity told Dawn that a woman, her husband and domestic help (who brought the DIG to hospital unconscious) were taken into custody.

Quoting the couple, he said the DIG’s health deteriorated at the flat after taking some antidepressants and they just shifted him to hospital.

He said the servants and the couple were later released after questioning while adding the family did not want any legal action.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar told Dawn that Mr Jamal was his batchmate and he was OSD.

He said the exact cause of death was not ascertained yet and police were waiting for a medical and forensic report.

He said initial reports suggested side effect of some medicine.

“No one was arrested in the case but some servants and friends were called for questioning and were allowed to go,” he said.

DIG Operation Ali Nasir Rizvi told this reporter that the family of the deceased was waiting for autopsy and forensic reports for registration of a case.

Mr Jamal wrote two Urdu poetry books Atish Zir Paa and Fasana Kaun-o-Makan. He served as Lahore DIG investigation and DIG telecommunication, traffic and railway.

A Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) team and police inspected the apartment and collected some evidence such as food samples and utensils for analysis.

He was laid to rest at a local graveyard.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2023