HYDERABAD: A former in-charge of the Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF), Hyderabad, who was dismissed from service for his involvement in a kidnapping for ransom case last year, has been reinstated.

Two other police officials, an inspector and a sub-inspector, involved in an identical case, may also be reinstated as their appeals are likely to be decided in their favour by the DIG concerned, according to a source.

Sub-inspector Waheed Panhwar was booked by the Cantonment police for kidnapping Atiq Soomro and Mohammad Saleh alias Jawad Memon, residents of Naushahro Feroze, on Nov 1, 2024. The then Hyderabad SSP, Dr Farrukh Ali, had ordered registration of a case against Panhwar and three policemen.

DSP CIA Aslam Langah had investigated the case after Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar had reportedly spoken to him after two residents of his home district were waylaid by police and forced to pay ransom.

The DIG had reinstated SI Panhwar in service last month and posted him in Hyderabad a few days back but transferred him to Dadu within a few days after news about the official’s reinstatement spread across the town.

SI Panhwar was booked along with constables Zohaib Hussain, Mehmood Gujjar and Zubair under Sections 342, 506(2) of the PPC vide FIR (No.129/24). According to the Cantonment police, Section 365-A (kidnapping for ransom) was subsequently added to the case by the investigating officer (IO).

After the FIR was registered against the police officials, they were taken into custody for arresting and holding Saleh Memon and Atiq Soomro hostage before extorting from them Rs1.9 million through an online application.

The money was then transferred into an account held by one, Mohammad Bux. Memon and Soomro were kept at a guest house owned by a police constable.

The ‘management’ of the case began with the IO submitting a report under Section 173 Cr.PC with “lacunas” as observed by civil judge concerned in his May 5 order. The court then returned police papers to SSP with directives to hand over investigation to a senior and honest officer.

The IO again submitted a summary to the court seeking declaration of the case as class-C so as to get the case cancelled on the basis of statements of alleged detainees recorded on April 22. A DSP was then tasked with investigation on the basis of the same police papers.

According to the May 5 court order, the two detainees backed out of statements, saying “no such incident took place and there was no truth in the statements of prosecution witnesses (PWs)” (who were all policemen) as the detainees had a dispute with one Mohammad Bux in whose accounts they had transferred the amount and that the ‘FIR [against police officials] was false and baseless’.

Police had, in fact, lodged a kidnapping for ransom FIR on the basis of the information provided by the only eye-witness, Zaheer Ahmed Soomro. “It is astonishing to note the IO on checking roznamcha register didn’t find any such entry regarding arrival or the information shared by Zaheer Soomro to police. The IO could not find any detail about him [Soomro],” wrote the judge in his order. DSP/IO recommended ‘disposal of FIR under cancelled C-class and the court agreed with his report.

“We didn’t make such entries [information shared by Soomro] as police pick up suspects on a daily basis thus Zaheer Soomro’s entry was not made in the roznamcha,” said the then SHO Cantonment Imran Rasheed, who was complainant of the FIR.

The court’s order was submitted to the DIG who was seized with SI Panhwar’s appeal. He, however, accepted the SI’s plea on June 3 and converted the punishment of dismissal from service into forfeiture of two years of approved service while reinstating the official with immediate effect.

The DIG posted him in Hyderabad but when reports of the official’s November incident emerged Hyderabad police surrendered his services to range police and finally he was transferred to Dadu on July 28. The DIG shared a copy of his order on the SI’s appeal with Dawn on Tuesday.

A police source said that SI Panhwar eventually settled his issue with Saleh and Atiq which led to his acquittal.

“Similarly, the issue between inspector Asif Jatoi and sub-inspector Saifullah Gill in an identical case filed with SITE police is nearing settlement with complainant, Hubdar Chandio, who had nominated Jatoi and Gill as accused in an FIR for kidnapping him and retrieving over Rs422,000 from his account while he was in custody at the police station,” said a source.

Hubdar was not attending court’s proceedings, according to the source. He was most likely to settle his case considering the fact both the policemen’s appeals were pending decision before the DIG.

“Yes, our appeals are pending [decision] before the DIG,” the sacked SIP Gill told Dawn on Tuesday. He said he had filed appeal on the ground that they were dismissed from service on the basis of registration of an FIR that only warranted suspension and even final challan was not submitted until their dismissal.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2025