BAHAWALNAGAR: The A-Division police have booked the McLeod Ganj station house officer (SHO) following accusations of abducting a court official.

SHO Muhammad Aslam Baloch allegedly kidnapped the official from the court premises and subjecting him to torture during his captivity at an undisclosed location for several days.

Kamran Ali, an official from the COC branch of Bahawalnagar civil court, was rescued after the civil court issued a formal notice to the Bahawalnagar district police officer (DPO), forcing his attention to the matter.

As per the first information report (FIR) filed on the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC), Bahawalpur Bench, on Aug 8, the incident occurred on July 4 around 9am. Kamran was abducted at gunpoint from the courtyard of the court by SHO Baloch, while the official was performing his duty.

The FIR states that Senior Civil Judge Faiz Ahmad Ranjha took action by notifying the Bahawalnagar DPO on July 6 about the incident. Upon discovering the SHO’s involvement as the abductor, the COC branch of the court sent a letter to the police on July 10, detailing the illegal arrest and torture on the official.

When Kamran’s mother Kausar Bibi approached the LHC, the police registered a case against Kamran under section 259 of the Pakistan Penal Code on July 18, showing his arrest and detained him in the district jail. In compliance with the LHC’s directives, the police released Kamran on Aug 4 and booked the SHO under Section 365 of the PPC on Aug 8.

A police official, however, levelled serious allegations against Kamran.

Spokesperson for the DPO Adnan Ali said that investigations were ongoing for both cases involving the SHO and the court official.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2023