SAHIWAL: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested five police officials allegedly involved in the torture and custodial death of a young man at Gogera police station, besides allegedly destroying CCTV footage and other relevant evidence of the incident.
Those arrested include Gogera SHO Azmat Ali, SIs Nazar Abbas and Rai Mansoor, ASI Irfan Ali and reader Saifullah.
According to the FIA, the officials were booked under Sections 302, 109, 34 and 201 of PPC and Section 9 of the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022, on the complaint of Balqis Bibi, widow of deceased Ghulam Mustafa.
Talking to Dawn, FIA Deputy Director Hasim Raza said the officials were arrested after two inquiries conducted by FIA Faisalabad and Sahiwal.
According to the complaint submitted by Balqis Bibi, a resident of Hamandki, Okara, around 15 police officials and two private persons forcibly entered her house on the morning of Nov 21, 2025, claiming to be looking for suspects.
She said several people were present in the house at the time, including Sibtul Hassan, Hasnain Mustafa, Iqbal and Ayub. Police allegedly took her sons Hasnain Mustafa and Sibtul Hassan to Gogera police station where they were subjected to severe torture. Sibtul Hassan allegedly became unconscious and was shifted to Okara DHQ Hospital in a critical condition, where he died.
The family alleged that the police tried to conceal the incident by removing or destroying CCTV footage, mobile data and other relevant records. They demanded a transparent investigation, but alleged that the police did not cooperate.
The Punjab Forensic Science Agency in its report said Sibtul Hassan’s death was caused by torture. The family subsequently approached FIA, which conducted an inquiry and found the police officials responsible for the incident.
Dawn learnt from sources that Civil Judge Masood Ahmed Faridi granted FIA physical remand of the arrested officials and directed the agency to produce them before the court on Sept 12.
Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2026
