VEHARI, Feb 22: Multan bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered registration of a murder case against 17 people, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and 12 other policemen for their involvement in a fake encounter at Chak 23/WB in which a man was killed.

Complainant Rasheedan Bibi alleged that the area police station house officer (SHO) had been reluctant to obey the court orders. Bibi had filed a petition with the LHC’s Multan bench, seeking registration of the murder case against DSP Zafar Dogar, SHO Aslam Ghuman, constable Zia, former union council nazim Afzal Yousaf, councillor Shafique Dogar, and 12 unidentified police officials, for allegedly killing her son Ashraf alias Jani in a fake encounter on May 24, 2006.

Bibi told reporters that she had approached Saeed Lodhi, the Vehari Sadar Police Station house officer, in July 2006, for registration of the case as directed by Vehari additional district and sessions judge Subh Sadique, but Lodhi refused to do so without approval of his bosses.

She said SHO Aslam Ghuman had been transferred from Vehari to Danywal, SHO Saeed Loadhi to Gaggo and DSP Zafar Dogar to Hasilpur. On the basis of these developments, Bibi filed another application in the LHC’s Multan bench, which also ordered registration of a case against the policemen involved in the fake encounter.

However, FIR of the incident had not been lodged till the filling of this report. On this occasion, Ch Zahid Anwer Wahla, vice president of the Punjab chapter of the PML-N, said he was helping Bibi in pursuing the case.