PESHAWAR: A local court has convicted a police investigation officer (IO) for ‘fabricating false evidence’ in a murder case and sentenced him to 10 years simple imprisonment.

The additional sessions judge, Imtiaz Ali, pronounced that the accused IO, Hidayatullah, was found guilty of offences under sections 186 (2) (hampering investigation) and 193 (fabricating false evidence) of Pakistan Penal Code.

The judge convicted the accused on both the counts and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment under Section 193 and three years’ imprisonment under Section 186 (2) PPC. “Since the offences are not cognate therefore, it is directed that punishments shall run consecutively,” the judge pronounced.

The accused, who was present in the courtroom, was taken into custody and sent to prison for serving his sentence. He was investigation officer (IO) in a murder case of a woman Mehfooza Bibi, who was killed at a bus stand in Peshawar. The FIR of the occurrence was registered at Pahari Pura police station on July 4, 2024, under sections 302, 324 and 34 of PPC.

The accused had appeared as prosecution witness during trial of the occurrence and his cross-examination took place on Jan 7, 2026.

During cross-examination, he stated that he had not recorded statement of the manager or any other person of the bus stand and had also not cited any of them as witness on the recovery memo. He had also not recorded statement of the CCTV camera operator nor there was any reference on the record as to who transferred the recording of the occurrence to a USB.

The accused had admitted that he had not dispatched the subject USB to forensic science laboratory or Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA), Lahore, or cybercrime agency to ascertain its genuineness or otherwise.

To a question by the court as to why he had not sent the video to PFSA, he claimed that due to burden of work he didn’t sent it there. He admitted that in the said video he had recognised the accused. He added that after seizing the said USB, carrying the CCTV footage, he had never played it during investigation.

The judge observed that the accused had not utilised the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure in respect of statement of alleged eyewitnesses, Laiba and Areesha, both daughters of the deceased woman.

The court observed that the accused IO had jeopardised the prosecution in the matter of the murder of Mehfooza Bibi, and had not utilised the provisions of CrPC in respect of statement of alleged eyewitnesses allegedly recorded by him under Section 161 of CrPC.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2026