SARGODHA: A judicial bailiff rescued a former army personnel, tied up with ropes, from the illegal custody of Saddar police and presented him in court on Monday.

Shazia Bibi of Chak 94 North filed a petition in the court of District and Sessions Judge Qamar Sultan on Saturday, alleging that the Sadar police station house officer (SHO) along with other officials, came to her house in a government vehicle. They climbed the walls, entered without a search warrant and took away her husband, 50-year-old Ghulam Abbas.

She alleged that the police assaulted him during the arrest.

Shazia said when she went to the police station to meet her husband, she was denied access, although she could hear his screams from an adjacent room where he was allegedly being tortured. She said she feared that her husband might die due to police brutality if not immediately recovered.

The judge forwarded the petition to Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Aslam for legal action, who then appointed bailiff Muhammad Jaber to conduct a raid. The bailiff raided the police station, seized official records and recovered Abbas, who was tied up with ropes, from a room, later presenting him in court.

Abbas testified that he had been kept in illegal custody for two days, stripped naked and tortured, despite no case being registered against him.

The bailiff confirmed to the court that no formal charges were filed against Abbas. The court has directed District Police Officer Sohaib Ashraf to submit a report within a week and to take action against the SHO.

ENCOUNTER: A robber wanted in more than two dozen criminal cases was allegedly killed by the gunfire of his own accomplices during a police encounter.

According to sources, three motorcycle riders fled from a police checkpoint on Melowal Road in the Miani area of Sargodha. When police gave chase, the suspects took cover in a nearby garden. A firefight ensued between the two sides.

When the gunfire ceased, suspect Mohsin was found dead, reportedly killed by shots fired by his accomplices. He was wanted by both Sargodha and Chakwal police in over two dozen cases, including murder, attempted murder, robbery, and murder during robbery.

The remaining suspects managed to escape. Police have shifted the body to the hospital for postmortem examination and launched a search operation to arrest the fleeing accomplices.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2025