LARKANA: Son of an SHO, a civilian, picked up two brothers when they were going to buy food from a restaurant in the area at around 11:00pm a day ago and beat them up in the lock-up of Badah police station where his father was posted, according to father of the youths.

Police let the victims go at about 3:00am after their parents and relatives gathered at the police station along with notables of the area and demanded their release.

A video purportedly showing the two brothers being beaten up in the lockup went viral on Tuesday, prompting Larkana’s Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Mir Rohal Khan Khoso to direct DSP Ms Paras Bakhrani to investigate the incident.

The victims’ father Nusrat Pathan, manager at Nasirabad branch of the National Bank of Pakistan, alleged that Naveed Solangi, son of Badah police station’s SHO, Rahmatullah Solangi, illegally detained his sons Yasir Pathan, 24, and Muzammil Pathan, 20, without any rhyme or reason when they were going to buy food from a restaurant near Pathan locality.

SSP penalises SHO, suspends four police officials

He brought them to Badah police station in a police mobile van and detained in the lock-up where they were subjected to torture, he said.

“We along with notables of the area went to the police station after learning about the boys’ detention and asked the SHO why his sons were arrested and beaten up inside the lock-up by his son, Naveed Solangi, who was not even a policeman,” he said.

“I was shocked to hear the SHO saying that since he is on leave, Naveed (his son) is working in his stead. After arguing for some time, police brought out my sons from the lockup and handed them over to us,” he said.

Yasir and Muzammil were on their way to a restaurant when Naveed, who was in a police mobile van, forced them to stop and asked them if they were outsiders and then accused them of being involved in crimes. When they rejected his allegation and insisted they were locals, Naveed pulled Yasir’s hairs and took both the brothers to the police station in the mobile van, said the victims’ uncle Abdul Rasheed.

The boy’s father said that Yasir was a student of MBBS in a central Asian state and Mozammil was studying at Iqra University.

SHO penalised, cops suspended

SSP Dr Mir Rohal Khan Khoso along with DSP Ms Paras Bakhrani reached Badah police station, met with the victims’ parents and ordered after hearing the victims to detain the SHO and suspend Writing Head Constable Talib Hussain Kassar, ASI Asadullah Shah and police constables Ali and Sadam Hussain.

A spokesman for Larkana police said that the police station concerned had issued a letter to the victims for medical checkup.

Further probe would be carried out in the light of the report, he said, adding DSP Ms Bakhrani would investigate the case.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2024