PESHAWAR: The police on Monday booked two officials, including a station house officer (SHO), over the death of a suspected cellphone snatcher in their custody.
Agha Mir Jani police station SHO Ebad Wazir and head constable Rahat were booked under the Pakistan Penal Code sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention).
The city police chief also suspended Ebad Wazir and directed him to report to the police lines, while the provincial police chief ordered an inquiry into the death, reported local media.
The development comes after the family members protested the death of suspect Fida Mohammad, a retired Frontier Corps soldier, while in custody.
One of the deceased’s brothers, Imran, complained to the police that SHO Ebad, police official Rahat and six plainclothesmen raided his brother’s house in Nawaz Sharif Town on Sunday evening and took him and nephew Ashfaq Khan away after subjecting them to severe torture.
He said the policemen also seized Rs85,000 cash, five cellphones, two motorcycles, two laptops and gold jewellery.
The complainant said the family rushed to the DSP’s office searching for the detained relatives, where they were told that Fida had died, while Ashfaq was injured.
Adnan Fida, a son of the deceased, said the police accused his father of selling stolen cellphones but failed to recover a single stolen phone from his house.
He also said the Agha Mir Jani police acted beyond their jurisdiction by picking up his father from the limits of the Faqirabad police station.
The deceased’s family members along with local residents staged a protest against the incident and closed the Ring Road at the Jamil Chowk, and dispersed after SSP (operations) Javed Iqbal showed up and assured them of the registration of an FIR against the culpable policemen.