KARACHI: Three officials of the Counter-Terrorism Depart­ment (CTD) of the Sindh policce were booked and arrested for their alleged involvement in wrongful confinement of a trader from Punjab, officials said on Sunday.

CTD SSP (Investigation) Bashir Ahmed Brohi said that the three officials — Mazhar Husain Brohi, Shoaib Kabeer and Mohammed Ahsan — had detained the trader in the garb of his alleged involvement in hundi/hawala and terror financing network to “extract money from him”.

He told Dawn that the CTG got the detained trader released and arrested the three suspects.

He said that a case was registered against the trio on the complaint of the trader, Haji Muhammad Aslam, under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

SSP says wrongful confinement FIR lodged against

Mr Aslam, said to be a resident of Okara, was ‘innocent’ and he was detained for malpractices, the SSP said.

The SSP said that he, along with his cousin Mohammed Waqas, came to Karachi for some business purpose. On Saturday, at around 9am, he realised that Waqas was missing and so was his cell phone. He visited the CTD-Civil Lines where he met with SHO Inspector Khawaja Imdad Ali who sought information from his staff about the missing man.

Later, the SSP said, it transpired that Assistant Sub-Inspector Mazhar Husain Brohi and Shoaib Kabeer and Mohammed Ahsan had kept Waqas in a room without lodging any FIR or having made any entry to the daily diary.

They were taken into custody and a case pertaining to illegal detention of the victim was registered against them after Mr Aslam told investigators that he wanted legal proceedings against the held policemen.

Man sets his bike on fire

outside KPC

Police on Sunday claimed that a rider who set his two-wheeler on fire outside the Karachi Press Club on Saturday against police’s alleged misbehaviour was under the influence of some contraband and had misrepresented before Mada­dgar-15 about presence of suspicious persons at a hotel near Cantonment Railway Station.

The citizen, identified as Harrison, on Saturday torched his bike outside the KPC. In a video being shared on media and social media, he said he torched his bike under protest as police subjected him to torture, claiming that he had informed the police about ‘suspicious persons’ but they beat him.

Taking notice of the incident, South-SSP Sheraz Nazir ordered an inquiry to ascertain veracity of the claims. In the meantime, the person was detained by the Artillery Maidan police for interrogation.

One officer familiar with the inquiry findings told Dawn on condition of anonymity that Harrison informed Madadgar-15 police about suspicious persons. The police immediately responded and reached a hotel near Cantt. Station on Saturday. It was transpired that both the persons were father and son who had arrived here from Punjab through a train and were staying at the hotel. The citizen accompanied by the police entered the room of the father and son where he used abusive language. Citing the statement of the hotel owner, the police inquiry also said that the citizen also indulged himself in heated arguments with the Madadgar-15 police.

“Initial inquiry revealed that he was under influence of contraband,” according to the inquiry. The police called the mother of the held person who expressed regret over the behaviour of her son. The youth was handed over to her mother along with his cell phone and other valuables.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2023