PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday ordered the provincial police chief to hold an impartial inquiry though a senior police officer into the extrajudicial killing of a person within a month.

A bench consisting of Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan and Justice Ijaz Anwar rejected an earlier inquiry conducted by a team headed by a superintendent of police (SP), which exonerated the relevant police officers of the charge.

It ordered a fresh inquiry conducted by an officer of DIG (deputy inspector general) rank.

The bench was hearing a petition of Baswara, who claimed that her son, Sheharyar, was taken into custody from a hujra in Oct 2018 in the jurisdiction of Pishtakhara police station by a police party headed by the SHO and was subsequently killed in custody.

Rejects earlier probe report observing it favours police officials

She said the police officials claimed that he was killed in an encounter.

The woman requested the court to order the registration of an FIR against the responsible officials.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction with the inquiry observing that there were several loopholes in it and the inquiry officer had tried to save his colleagues.

“We won’t allow anyone to become another Rao Anwar as the police had already faced embarrassment across the world due to his activities,” Justice Qaiser Rasheed observed, adding that the court would not permit custodial killing.

The bench observed that if a person was criminal, he should have been produced before the court instead of killing him custody.

Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Ali Gandapur, additional advocate general Syed Sikander Hayat Shah and legal advisor of police department Mian Abdul Fayyaz appeared before the bench.

An eye witness to the occurrence named Sattar Shah, from whose hujra the deceased Sheharyar was allegedly taken away, appeared before the bench and swore that the deceased was present in his hujra and he had brought out tea for him. He added that suddenly, a police party entered his hujra making a lot of noise and took away Sheharyar claiming that he was required in a criminal case to them.

He said the police later claimed that the man was killed during exchange of firing.

The CCPO said the incident had taken place before his posting on the present post.

He, however, said he had discussed the inquiry report with the inquiry officers who had said there was also another eye witness of the encounter but presently he had been absconding.

The bench observed that the present inquiry was substandard and the inquiry officer had not mentioned whether the eye witness account of Sattar Shah was discarded or not.

Justice Qaiser Rashid observed that on face of it the inquiry officer had supported his colleagues and had exonerated them without taking into consideration the statement of the eye witness.

When the bench asked the CCPO for a fresh inquiry through a DIG, the latter replied that he was himself a DIG and the provincial police chief was empowered to order an inquiry through a DIG of police.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2020