Karachi police on Saturday said that Ferozabad Station Investigation Officer Farooq Azam and his team have been booked and arrested for allegedly extorting money from family members of a suspect in the Bahadurabad lynching case.
In a statement that a case, SSP East Ghulam Azfar Mahesar said that case number 245/2019 has been filed against the suspects under Articles 384 [punishment for extortion] and 385 [putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion] of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
On Aug 17, an alleged teenage thief, Rehan, aged around 16 years was beaten to death by an angry mob in Bahadurabad area on Saturday after being caught along with an accomplice while entering into a bungalow at 11:00 am. His accomplice managed to flee the scene.
The accused were arrested with the help of the video of the murder. So far, five people have been taken into custody by the police in the case.
The case was lodged on the complaint of Rehan’s father, who lost his life after immense torture by the angry people in the area.
The owners of the house, as well as their neighbours, had tortured the alleged robber but called the Rangers after noticing the boy’s deteriorated condition. He was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where he was pronounced dead.
On the same day, police arrested two owners of the house on charges of killing the teenage suspect and filed a case. Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice of the killing. The next day, police said that three more suspects had been arrested, bringing the total up to five.
According to the SSP on Saturday, the investigation team brought a suspect to his house, barged into the residence and harassed his family members.
“The investigation team reportedly received money from family members of the suspect. The matter is under investigation,” the SSP said.
SIO Farooq Azam, Sub-Inspector Rehmat, Constable Shah Faisal and Ghulam Rasool have been nominated in the case, he said, adding that Ghulam Rasool has escaped.
He added that the investigation of the case would be carried out on merit and no leniency would be tolerated in this regard. Mahesar vowed that police would restore the confidence of people in the department.
