GUJRAT: Two men affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, including a private secretary to former chief minister and PTI President Parvez Elahi, died in police custody in Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin districts.

Police booked an SHO and at least 25 other policemen of Pahrianwali Police Station on the murder and other charges on the death of the father of a local PTI worker in Mandi Bahauddin.

Reports said Chaudhry Masood Ahmed, 70, who was working as private secretary to Parvez Elahi, was arrested from his house in Saroki village near Kunjah by the Industrial Area police some days back. He was being kept in the lock-up of the Kharian Cantt police. His condition reportedly deteriorated due to a cardiac issue late on Monday night and he was taken to the Combined Military Hospital where he died.

Police shifted his body to the Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital where doctors conducted an autopsy and handed over the body to the family.

The deceased include personal secretary to Parvez; 25 cops booked

Waqas Masood, the son of the deceased, told Dawn his father was a retired government official and had been working as a secretary to Mr Elahi in Lahore for the last many years. He said the Industrial Area police had taken his father into custody on Jan 23 and shifted him to Kharian Cantt Police Station.

Late on Monday night, the family received a call about a health issue of his father and upon reaching the hospital, they were informed about his death. He said the family did not lodge any complaint with the police regarding the death.

A spokesman for Gujrat police, however, said the deceased was not in the police custody.

At Mandi Bahauddin’s Janu Chak village, elderly Ahmed Khan was detained by the Pahrianwali police about a week ago after his sons organised a corner meeting in support of PTI candidate Basima Riaz Asghar in PP-41 (Phalia).

Khan died in police custody on Monday night after which the family lodged a protest against the death. The family blamed the police for subjecting the old man to physical and mental torture that caused the death.

Police booked at least 25 policemen, including Pahrianwala SHO Ansar Sahi, and others under various sections, including murder, on the report of Mudassar, the son of the deceased. The complainant said his family had organised an election meeting of the PTI candidate at their house and soon after that the police raided their house and arrested his father.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2024