KARACHI, Jan 4: A district and sessions court has ordered the SHO of the Gizri police station to book a superintendent of police and six other police officials under the anti-terror law for illegally detaining a citizen, subjecting him to severe torture, framing him in a forged case and snatching his custody from a court official.

While disposing of a habeas corpus application filed in June last year, District and Sessions Judge (south) Ahmed Saba also directed the provincial police officer to hold a departmental inquiry against these delinquent police officers.

The court in its order observed that on a directive of this court, head bailiff Muddasir had raided the crime monitoring division cell (CMDC) situated on the first floor of a building that housed the Gizri police station on June 28, 2012 and got Mohammad Younus released since the police failed to produce any FIR or other document to justify his detention.

However, a police team led by Sub-Inspector Haq Nawaz Phalphoto, the officer in charge of the cell which was functioning under the supervision of the then Clifton SP, forcibly snatched the custody, misbehaved with the bailiff, subjected the victim to torture and took him away, it added.

Later, the police officials appeared in court and claimed that the detainee was booked under Section 13-D of the Pakistan Arms Ordinance at the Baloch Colony police station and he was brought to the cell for an investigation by the police station concerned, the court order said.

It further stated that since the police report was dissatisfactory, the orders were issued to jail authorities to release the victim on a personal bond and a direction was given to a judicial magistrate to hold a probe into the incident.

Judicial Magistrate Hatim Aziz Solangi in his inquiry report stated that the victim was illegally confined by the CMDC officials, he was also subjected to severe torture and kept in inhuman condition and the Gizri SHO and officials of the Baloch Colony police station helped the officials of the cell to get away with the situation by lodging a fake case against the detainee.

The court ruled that the victim was unlawfully detained at an unauthorised place, severely tortured, chained and his custody was snatched and he was again subjected to torture in the presence of the bailiff and the media which created terror and insecurity among the public.

It added that some officials of the Gizri and Baloch Colony police stations had facilitated SI Haq Nawaz by lodging a fake report, showing a weapon to have been seized and preparing fabricated documents, which were not available with the police officer to escape the responsibility in respect of illegal detention. The CMDC was not notified by a competent authority or the home department as required under the law, it added.

The court ruled that despite having ample knowledge, the police officials had initiated the action contrary to the law.

The court directed the Gizri SHO to lodge an FIR against the then Clifton SP since the cell was functioning under his supervision, Haq Nawaz Phalphoto, ASI Ghulam Sarwar of the CMDC, then duty officers of the Gizri and Baloch Colony SI Akhtar Aziz and SI Mohammad Zahoor, then SHO of the Baloch Colony police station Inspector Mohammad Irfan and SI Raja Khalid Mehmood, the investigation officer of the illicit weapon case lodged against the victim.

The court ruled that the offences committed by the police officers fell under Sections 166 (public servant disobeying law with intent to cause injury to any person), 220 (commitment for trial or confinement by person having authority who knows that he is acting contrary to law), 345 (wrongful confinement of person for whose liberation writ has been issued), 346 (wrongful confinement in secret), 337-H (II) (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent act) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Sections 6 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

It also directed the SHO to submit a compliance report in court.

The court also asked its office to send a copy of the order to the registrar of the Sindh High Court with a request to discuss the mater in hand during the course of meeting with the Sindh police chief whenever it would be scheduled.