DERA GHAZI KHAN, Jan 3: A youth is in a state of shock after being tortured by the Choti Zaireen police. Saifullah (20), son of Ghulam Shabir Ghangla, was picked up while playing snooker at a shop on Friday. The police were shutting up shops for Friday prayers, sources said.

The youth was referred to the Nishtar Hospital in Multan in critical condition after first-aid at a rural health centre in Choti Zaireen and the DHQ hospital in Dera.

Nazir Ahmed, an uncle of the victim, said they were informed that Saif had been brought to the RHC by police. At the RHC, they saw Saif in a state of shock with high fever and marks of torture on lower parts of his body.

Neither the RHC nor the DHQ administration mentioned marks of torture on lower parts of the body of victim in their medical reports.

Choti Zaireen SHO Iqbal Chandia said the police had picked up Saif from a snooker club on Friday and recovered a pistol from his possession. He said the police did not torture him. He claimed that police had registered a case against the youth under Section 13/20/65.

However, the clerk (Muharer) at Choti police station told this reporter that police did not register any case against Saif.