LAHORE: A welding shop owner has approached the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO) with a complaint against a network of “corrupt” police officials, who twice implicated him in fabricated cases for allegedly exposing a scam of sale of officially-supplied fuel meant for police vehicles.

The complainant, Mohammad Riaz, a welding shop owner, was booked twice by the Ghalib market police and allegedly kept in custody by police of three districts — Lahore, Kasur and Sheikhpura.

Riaz was allegedly punished for exposing a nexus of police officials involved in sale of the officially-supplied patrol/diesel at a mini petrol pump, adjacent to his shop at Bukhari Market in Canal Park, Gulberg.

The victim had prepared a list of 251 vehicles, a majority of these owned by police department, noted their registration numbers, timing of arrival and leaving the mini petrol pump after selling the official fuel.

In most of the cases, he had also recorded video clips of these vehicles to bring the matter to the notice of the police high-ups as the policemen involved in the scam were causing a heavy loss to the national exchequer by illegally selling the fuel for personal gains.

The documents presented by Riaz showed the two cases, lodged against him by the Ghalib Market policemen allegedly involved in the fuel sale network, were later discharged by the courts concerned when the investigation police failed to produce evidence to prove the charges.

The police allegedly implicated Riaz in a street crime case lodged on Sept 13, claiming that he had snatched a mobile phone from a man near Jail Road, while another FIR was registered, accusing him of supporting an opposition party.

The charges framed in both the FIRs were quite different in nature, showing a glaring mala fide of the police.

As he was presented before the court in a street crime case, the judge declared that perusal of the record reveals that no document showing criminal history of the accused is annexed with this file.

Upon a query, the investigation officer (IO) admitted that the accused had no previous criminal record, the judge added.

“The liberty of the accused could not be curtailed mere on the wishes of the police for their ulterior motives as no CDR of the accused has been procured, [and] on this basis it could not be presumed that the accused was present at the place of the occurrence on the given time and date,” the court declared.

The court also turned down the police request for his judicial remand and discharged him from the case on Nov 11.

Following his arrest by the police twice in fake cases and his release on the court orders, Riaz shut down his shop and didn’t resume his business for the last 20 days, fearing more revengeful acts by the police.

He moved a complaint with the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO), seeking a high-level probe into the police’s highhandedness and corruption.

In his application, Riaz pointed out that a police Sub-Inspector Mukhtar and moharrar of the Ghalib Market police station were allegedly running the scam of official fuel’s sale in connivance with other police officials from Kasur and Sheikhpura.

“I was kept illegally in police stations of Mustafa Abad in Kasur, Ferozwala in Sheikhupura and Ghalib Market, Lahore,” Riaz said.

He alleged that the police vehicles from Lahore, Kasur and Sehikhpura used to arrive at the mini petrol pump at different timings to sell official fuel, carrying containers of patrol/diesel.

The drivers of these vehicles would collect the money from the petrol outlet owner, he added.

“As I dared to file the first complaint with the Ghalib Market police station SHO, the network started targeting me,” Riaz said, adding, “Since then, I had been facing the wrath of the corrupt police officials, and was forced to shut down my shop.”

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2024