A 10-member special board, constituted by Punjab Police Inspector General Javed Iqbal on June 28 on special orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to stop fake encounters, their regular monitoring and vigilance, has received its first complaint, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The board has received its first application against the Nishatabad Police on Tuesday for killing a former constable in an alleged encounter in February. Sources said that applicant Muhammad Boota from Faisalabad appeared before head of the 10-member special board Choong Police Training School (PTS) In-charge Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Major (r) Mubasharullah, along with his parents, and submitted his complaint about the extra-judicial killing of his brother Farzand alias Farzandi.
The complainant claimed that his brother Farzand was a former police constable. He claimed that the Nishatabad Police of Faisalabad picked his brother up on February 11 for his alleged involvement in different cases of robberies and dacoities. Boota claimed that the Nishatabad Police kept his brother in custody and subjected him to severe torture during the course of investigation.
The complainant claimed that on February 24, after 13 days of his brother’s unofficial arrest, the Nishatabad Police rushed his brother to Allied Hospital Faisalabad, as he was dying due to torture. Boota said that doctors at Allied Hospital refused to attend his brother because of his poor health condition, which deteriorated due to police torture. He claimed that police shifted his brother to the police station again and later on the same night, shot him dead in an alleged encounter that took place according to the Nishatabad Police at the Faisalabad Bypass. He claimed that later they staged a protest after blocking the road against brutality of the Nishatabad Police.
The complainant said that the court, on their complaint, ordered a judicial inquiry into the matter. He said that Nishatabad SHO Maqsood Ahmed and his subordinates were found guilty in the judicial inquiry, as autopsy of his brother’s body proved that he was subjected to severe torture by Nishatabad Police before killing him. Boota claimed that the inquiry officer ordered registering a case against SHO Maqsood Ahmed and his subordinates but police high-ups did not obey orders of the inquiry officer. He claimed that the SHO and his subordinates are still working at the same police station and threatening them with dire consequences. Nishatabad Police have claimed Farzand was a hardened criminal involved in at least 44 incidents.
On being contacted, Mubasharullah confirmed that the board has received its first application. He said that the board will immediately respond to the complaint and seek answers from the Nishatabad Police. To a question, he said that they have access to all Punjab Police records and if they faced any problem then they shall inform LHC.
