QUETTA: Two men, arrested on suspicion of being involved in incidents of theft and robbery, were found dead in police custody in Turbat town of Kech district on Tuesday.

They were arrested along with three other suspects on the outskirts of town on Monday night. Their bodies were recovered from the guards’ room of the official residence of District Police Officer of Kech, Imran Qureshi.

Police have registered a case against the DPO on the complaint of the mother of one of the deceased.

DIG of Makran range Muazzam Jah Ansari told Dawn over telephone that post-mortem report would determine the cause of the deaths. He has ordered an inquiry into the incident to fix responsibility for the deaths in custody.

“The policemen deployed at the guards’ room have been taken into custody for interrogation,” the DIG said.

The deceased were identified as Saddam Sudheer, a resident of Turbat, and Nasir Ali of Panjgur district.

Sources said the SHO of Turbat had arrested five suspects from Singanisar area during patrolling. According to SHO Abdul Sattar Dashti, he “took the suspects to the residence of DPO for investigation”.

He claimed that he left two of the suspects at the residence of the DPO and shifted three others to Turbat police station.

Sources said the SHO was informed about the death of two suspects on Tuesday. He refused to receive the bodies, which were taken to the District Hospital Turbat.

Initial reports suggested that torture marks were found on the two bodies.

Official sources said the DPO had taken notice of the incident and suspended seven police personnel deployed at his residence. “They are in police custody,” the sources claimed.

“We will initiate legal action against those found guilty,” DIG Ansari said. The bodies were handed over to the heirs of the deceased after autopsy. The doctor who conducted post-mortem refused to divulge any information about the cause of the deaths.

Published in Dawn March 11th , 2015

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