RAHIM YAR KHAN: After the death of a man because of torture by Kotsabzal police, scores of protesters kept the N-5 highway blocked for traffic for eight hours by burning tyres and setting up a protest camp, forcing the police to resort to teargas and baton charge to disperse them on Monday.

The protesters, including the father of the victim, Meher Din, alleged that Shah Nawaz Chunar (38), a resident of the Goth Aaloo area, was picked by four policemen of Kotsabzal police station — Inspector Khadam Hussain, Inspector Nisar Ahmed, and constables Rao Abid and Rasheed Tarhaile — from Malangi Hotel at 2pm on Sunday in the presence of several people.

Later, when Chunar’s father, Meher Din, lodged a complaint of the incident with Kotsabzal police, the SHO denied the arrest.

The protesters, including the victim’s father, alleged that Chunar was subjected to brutal torture at Kotsabzal police station, resulting in his death. They alleged that the police were trying to conceal the death in custody and were not handing them the body of the victim.

Four nominated police officials suspended, arrested

After the matter was highlighted on social media, RYK District Police Officer Imran Ahmed Malik took notice and ordered the Investigation SP Javed Jatoi to probe the issue.

Earlier, the members of Chunar tribe, along with scores of locals, gathered on N-5 national highway and blocked it for traffic by burning tyres.

The protesters set up a camp on the highway and demanded the police to hand over the “body” of the alleged torture victim and register a murder case against the four police officials.

Sources say that as the police tried to disperse the protesters, they attacked the police vehicles and personnel with clubs, injuring three policemen.

Later, to pacify the protesters, the police registered FIR No.556/24 under section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code, but did not mention the allegation of death by torture. They say that the police had to use teargas and baton charge to uproot the protest camp and restore traffic on the N-5 highway after the eight-hour-long blockade.

A police spokesman told Dawn that the Kotsabzal police were denying that they picked Chunar and tortured him to death.

In a late-night development, the four police officials nominated in the case were suspended from service and were arrested after being booked in the murder case.

After the postmortem examination, the police handed over the victim’s body to his family.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2024