ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the inspector general of police (IGP) Islamabad to produce two children arrested by Golra police on May 13 in connection to a crime allegedly committed by their elder brother.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, after hearing a petition filed by Chungi No.26 resident Tasleema Bibi, directed the IGP “to ensure that the children of the petitioner are produced before this court on the next date fixed.”

The court order also stated that the IGP “is further directed to ensure that a senior officer appears before this court along with a written report at 10:30am on May 27, 2019.”

According to the case details, the petitioner has accused Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Saqib of arresting her sons Ali Sher and Hamza from her home in Chungi No.26, a suburb of Islamabad.

The ASI told the petitioner that he was taking her children into custody in connection with a criminal investigation in which their elder brother, Sajjad, is a suspect.

She said the police official threatened to take her entire family into custody.

According to the petition, the ASI also arrested the petitioner’s landlord, and kept everyone in police lock-up.

When the landlord was released the next day, he told the petitioner that the ASI had kept her children in miserable conditions.

The petitioner has asked the IHC for the children to be recovered from ASI Saqib’s custody, and to initiate criminal proceedings against him and the Golra station house officer.

Arguing that petition before Justice Minallah, the petitioner’s counsel said that the children were illegally taken from the house and had been missing since. He said the petitioner had approached the police hierarchy, to no avail.

He also stated that a petition had been filed that was disposed of by the additional district and sessions judge, but to no avail.

The court noted that the petitioner has made serious allegations against ASI Saqib, and observed: “It appeared from the record that the petitioner has been running from pillar to post but the state functionaries do not appear to have responded in accordance with their obligations.”

The court added: “Even if the minors were not in the custody of the police station yet it was duty of the state functionaries to have taken prompt action to trace [their] whereabouts.”

The court put off further hearing until Monday.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2019