PESHAWAR, Nov 24: Additional District and Sessions Judge Jamal Khan on Wednesday recommended to the provincial police officer to take legal action against SHO Sherzaman Khan for registering a false case of drug trafficking against a citizen.
The court acquitted Abdur Rehman of drug trafficking charge and observed that the evidence on record had proved that the accused had been falsely implicated in the case.
The judge recommended to the PPO to register an FIR against the SHO Bhadabher Police Station under Section 26 of the Control of Narcotics Substance Act, 1997, under which a police officer found detaining or arresting a person vexatiously and unnecessarily could be sentenced to three years' imprisonment.
The chairman, Voice of Prisoners, Noor Alam Khan, appeared for the defendant and argued that the SHO had got the habit of registering concocted cases against innocent citizens.
He referred to an earlier case, stating that the facts of both the cases were almost identical. He stated that in both cases the police had claimed that the driver of the vehicle carrying narcotics had escaped from the scene whereas the defendants were arrested claiming that they were passengers in those vehicles.
In the FIR, the police claimed that they had prior tip-off about smuggling of contraband from tribal area and on Kohat road they erected barricades on May 31, 2003. The police alleged that when the car carrying narcotics, bearing registration number ADA 444, Sindh, approached them they signalled it to stop. However, the driver left the vehicle and escaped from the scene.
The police claimed of arresting Abdur Rehman, who was allegedly travelling in the vehicle. The police claimed of recovering 118 kilograms of charas from the car. Noor Alam Khan argued that the medical report of the accused- defendant proved that he was a drug addict.
He added that it was a concocted case as it was beyond understanding how despite having prior information and presence of large number of policemen the driver escaped. Mr Khan referred to the evidence on record of two policemen, stating that their statements clearly proved that the entire case was fabricated.
He pointed out that in an another case registered on July 14, 2003, the same SHO had in the same manner arrested another person namely Munawar Khan and claimed that the driver had escaped. In that case, he added, the additional district and sessions judge had acquitted the accused and ordered registration of an FIR against the SHO.