KARACHI, Dec 26: The Sindh High Court directed the inspector-general of police and the provincial home secretary on Tuesday to file personal affidavits in a petition alleging confinement of a seminary student by an unidentified law enforcement agency and seeking his whereabouts.

A division bench comprising Justices Mushir Alam and Amir Hani Muslim was hearing a petition moved by Abdul Rehman stating that his son, Naveed Osman, a Class VII student of Jamia Farooqia, Shah Faisal Colony, Karachi, went to attend a marriage ceremony on November 25 and disappeared.

The petitioner’s counsel, Maqboolur Rehman, said after making inquiries they had learnt that four boys were picked up from a marriage lawn near the Mufti Shamazai roundabout by personnel of a law enforcement agency. One of them, Farooq, a student of Jamia Binori Town, was released after confinement of five days. However, he (Farooq) was reluctant to give any details about his incarceration or the fate of his three colleagues.

The counsel expressed the apprehension that the petitioner's son has also been detained by the same personnel and prayed to the court to order production of Naveed and restrain the respondents from shifting him outside the jurisdiction of the court.

As the petition came up before the bench, three officials the SHO and the TPO of Jamshed Town Police Station and a CID inspector filed their statements denying the arrest or detention of the petitioner's son. The TPO and the SHO told the court that prior to approaching the court, the petitioner had submitted an application to the police received through a courier company and they had appointed a sub-inspector to search for the missing boy. The assistant inspector-general (legal) appeared for the Sindh Police and requested time to file comments on behalf of IGP Sindh.

Adjourning the hearing to January 5, 2007, the bench directed the IGP and the home secretary to file personal affidavits regarding action being taken for recovery of the missing student. The court also issued notices to the deputy attorney-general to submit a report after obtaining information from the concerned federal agencies.

In another case, the bench also directed the IGP and the DAG to submit comments on a petition against illegal detention of a businessman and his employee by law enforcement agencies.

Petitioner Halima Begum alleged her son, Mohammad Yousuf, and his salesman, Abdul Latif, were taken by officials of LEAs from his sweet shop in Nazimabad on December 20. The Additional Advocate-General, M. Ahmed Pirzada, sought time for filing comments on behalf of the provincial agencies. Granting the request, the bench adjourned the matter till January 5.

LYARI INSPECTION: Another division bench, meanwhile, asked the court nazir to inspect the Lyari area and submit his report on January 18. Petitioner Nasir Baloch has alleged that a new water supply pipeline was being laid in the Lyari River bed under the K-3 project. His counsel, Salim Sammo, said toxic sewerage water would enter the new pipeline and contaminate it. The pipeline should be laid outside the river instead of in its bed, he said. —PPI