HYDERABAD: Personnel of Punjab police ransacked a hotel and a house within the jurisdiction of at least three police stations in the city in search of a suspect wanted in a murder case on Thursday but no action was taken against the police team for openly flouting standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Sources said that Sialkot police who were said to be in civvies picked up a man in Market police area but did not bother to make any entry in the police station concerned required under law.

Hyderabad City police were reluctant to take action against the team and no legal process had been initiated yet against the law violators.

The Sialkot police team first reached Hirabad area within the jurisdiction of Market police and picked up one Awais, nephew of Riaz, who owned a nihari hotel off Risala Road within the jurisdiction of City police station.

They forced Awais to take them to the place where Imran, prime suspect in the murder case, might be hiding. He took them to the house of one Liaquat, cousin of Riaz, in Kali Mori area where police ransacked the house.

“Imran is my maternal nephew and is booked in a case of murder which took place about six to seven months back in Sialkot. Punjab police picked up my nephew Awais in Hirabad on Thursday while he was on his way to get milk,” said Riaz.

Late Liaquat had an eatery adjacent to Riaz’s hotel on Risala Road within the jurisdiction of City police station.

Riaz said that the police team then struck at his hotel, ransacked furniture and overturned crockery and utensils. “They created scare at the hotel during the ongoing protest against Asia’s acquittal at Hyder Chowk at that time,” he said.

Source said that when Hyderabad senior superintendent of police Sarfaraz Nawaz Shaikh came to know about Punjab police’s actions he asked SHO of City police station Raees Khanzada, who was present at Hyder Chowk near the protesters, to reach the hotel.

Mr Khanzada arrived at the hotel and was rudely turned away by Sialkot policemen since he was alone. Later, the SSP asked the SHO of Cantonment police station Imran Rasheed to deal with Punjab police.

Finally, after Hyderabad police’s negotiations with Punjab police team Awais was handed over to Riaz since he was not wanted in the murder case, according to Imran Rasheed.

SHO City Raees Khanzada told Dawn that no entry was made in the record for what Punjab police did in his jurisdiction. Similarly, Pinyari police did not take any action as well where the police team, according to Riaz, had ransacked his relative’s house.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2018