HYDERABAD, March 20: The Sixth Extra Joint Civil Judge, Hyderabad, Ali Ahmed Jan on Wednesday submitted his inquest report to the District and Sessions Judge in the death of Mehmood Khoso, who died under mysterious circumstances on March 15.
At the preliminary stage, mentioned in the police report, which was prepared under section 176 Cr.PC after examining the body (inquest report) under-trial prisoner Mehmood Khoso died of torture inflicted by jail authorities.
According to excerpts of the report of Mr Jan on March 15 he was informed by the superintendent, jail, M. Altaf Malik, about Mr Khoso. He examined the body at the mortuary of the Civil Hospital and found “marks of injuries” on the body. At that time no close relative was present in the hospital except for Ghulam Rasool, who told the visiting judge that two of Mr Mehmood’s brothers, Ibrahim Khoso and Abdullah Khoso, were also being kept at the central jail.
The judge received a letter from the jail administration on March 16 and went to the jail where he recorded the statement of Mr Ibrahim and Mr Abdullah under sections 164 Cr.PC.
The judge again visited the Civil Hospital and witnessed the body along with the additional police surgeon, an SIP of the Baldia police station, Ghulam Rasool Pirzado.
Under-trial prisoner, Mr Abdullah, in his statement told the judge that on March 14, he along with his brothers, Ibrahim and Mehmood, had gone to Umerkot to attend the hearing of their case and returned to the jail.
He said that the next morning all of them were called by Mr Aijaz Hyder, the deputy superintendent jail, in his room where Mr Aurangzeb and another man, Jumo, were also present. He said that they demanded Rs2,000 from them which they failed to pay. The deputy superintendent took them towards a pond, located inside the jail.
He alleged that both he and Mehmood were stripped and handcuffed by Mr Hyder and then filthy water was pumped into the nose of Mehmood through a pipe, which suffocated him and led to his death.
He further said that water oozed from the ears and eyes of Mehmood and he died in front of him. He said that he was also tortured by the jail officials but when Ibrahim started shouting he was left alone.
INQUEST REPORT: According to 176 Cr.PC report of the police, the under-trial prisoner died of torture inflicted by the jail authorities. The report specified the injuries on different parts of the body including his nose, swelling on the buttocks and on the right cheek, and blood clots around his neck and shoulders.
The report claimed that according to the jury’s opinion, the under-trial prisoner was tortured to death by the jail administration. In a fresh development, the superintendent, Central Jail, Hyderabad, M. Altaf Malik, has sent a letter to the Baldia police station, seeking registration of a case in the wake of Mehmood Khoso’s death, which he said was caused due to a scuffle between Khano Maachi and Mr Mehmood.
According to the SHO, Baldia police station, Tariq Khanzada, a case had not been lodged as the judicial inquiry was still in progress and the letter of the superintendent jail remained pending.
JAIL SUPERINTENDENT: The jail superintendent, M. Altaf Malik, told this correspondent that the under-trial prisoner had died on his way to hospital after a clash with Khano Machi, a convicted prisoner of the jail.
He refused to give details about the incident that led to Mr Mehmood’s death on the ground that a departmental inquiry by the DIG, Prisons, Sindh, Nawaz Hussain, was in progress.
It would be premature to disclose anything. Let us wait for the outcome of the inquiry, he concluded.
SUSPENDED: The IG, Prisons, Sindh, Brigadier Nisar Mehar, suspended four jail officials including the assistant jailor, Aurangzeb, and three other jail officials, Niaz, Basheer and Shabbir.