Sialkot lynching case

[sonicboom]

Sialkot lynching case

Thursday, September 02, 2010
By our correspondent

ISLAMABAD: The inquiry report on the lynching of two brothers by a mob in Sialkot, presented before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, reveals that deceased Muneeb and Mughees were not dacoits or criminals though it is quite possible they might have committed some mistake unwittingly.

Additional Advocate General, Punjab, Khadim Hussain Qaiser, presented the report before a three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The report was prepared by Justice (retd) Kazim Malik, who was assigned to conduct an inquiry into the tragic incident.

The Supreme Court had taken suo moto notice after different TV channels showed the footage of the incident, which was widely condemned. The court directed Advocate General, Punjab, Khawaja Haris, to publish the report for the general public. He was also asked to convene a meeting of the joint investigation team of the police and look into the matter personally.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that mob justice was introduced by the police. He directed the court, where the case is pending, to decide it expeditiously.

The report confirmed the involvement of ex-DPO Waqar Chohan in the incident and observed that the police had failed to shoulder its responsibility. It said the two brothers were not involved even in minor crimes like mobile snatching before the incident, and pointed out that Investigating Officer Shenshah Bukhari and Medical Officer Dr Farooq intentionally spoiled this case, so that the relevant authorities could proceed against them.

The report recommended another post-mortem of the bodies of the two brothers because the earlier medical report was not correct. It also says that initially, Rescue 1122 performed its duty well, however, later they also got involved in the criminal act.

During the course of the proceedings, Additional Inspector General, Mushtaq Sukhaira, informed the court that former DPO Waqar Chohan was involved in the incident and, therefore, he had been arrested.

He said that the police arrested 17 civilians and 10 police officials, who were involved in lynching of the two brothers. He further stated that four policemen, Rana Muhammad Ilyas, SHO, Mubarik Ali, Constable Tariq Mahmood and Waris Ali, ASI, were still absconding. He told the court that Rana Muhammad Ilyas, SHO, was present at the time of the gruesome incident. The court directed the police to arrest all those policemen, who were involved in the incident, and submit a report.

The court expressed its annoyance over the police investigation into the murder of Bilal, who was also killed the same day, and observed that, if possible, investigation of the incident should also be conducted by the Joint Investigation Team headed Additional IG Mushtaq Sukhaira.

The court also expressed dissatisfaction over the Police Order 2002 and observed that there was a need to impart professional training to policemen. During the proceedings, Hafiz Imran, district reporter of TV channel Dunya, also appeared before the court. The court hailed the professional integrity of the reporter and directed the police to provide him and his family adequate security.

The court later adjourned the hearing till today (Thursday).

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