BAHAWALNAGAR: A complainant in a cattle theft case on Saturday alleged that the B-Division police, Chishtian are intimidating him through various means to withdraw the case.

According to Muhammad Asif, a businessman from Chishtian, he lodged a complaint of cattle theft in November last. He said that after Chishtian DSP Muhammad Zubair refused to take action, he moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) Bahawalpur Bench, which ordered police to lodge an FIR in the case. However, he said, police did not register any case and instead the DSP asked him to withdraw the complaint.

He said that when he refused, eyewitness Muhammad Ismail was also picked up from his home on Dec 27 and detained at the police station. He was later recovered by a High Court bailiff on Dec 28.

Asif said that on the report by the bailiff, the court after taking the statement of police and checking the records on Dec 30, ordered the Bahawalpur RPO to take departmental action against the DSP Chishtian and the SHO B-Division within a fortnight. He alleged that after the orders, the police started threatening them with dire consequences.

Asif alleged that on Jan 4, police lodged a fake cattle theft case against him through a tout and started harassing his family and relatives by raiding their houses. He alleged that two days ago two officials of the B-Division police picked up his nephew Hasnain Arshad from his home and later sent them a message that Hasnain would be killed in a police encounter if he did not withdraw the case. He said that immediately after Hasnain was picked up, a High Court bailiff on Jan 7 raided the B-Division police station to recover him. However, he said, Hasnain was not found at the police station and there was also no record of his arrest.

He said that the High Court on Jan 8 ordered the police to register a case of Hasnain’s disappearance but nothing had been done.

Hasnain’s family said they feared that he was being kept at a private torture cell by the police or he had already been murdered in a fake encounter. They demanded that the IGP should take action and immediately order Hasnain’s recovery otherwise they would immolate themselves.

DSP Muhammad Zubair told Dawn that complainant Asif was a notorious criminal and ringleader of a gang. He said 19 FIRs of cheating, fraud and other crimes had been lodged against Asif in police stations.

He deprived Sajid Hanif, a trader belonging to Lahore, of millions of rupees in the guise of cattle business so police registered a case against him on Jan 4 on the complaint of Sajid. He revealed that police recovered 15 cattle from the gang.

The DSP denied arrest of Hasnain Arshad and any court order to register his missing report. He claimed that court has disposed of the writ petition filed by Asif to recover Hasnain from police custody.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2021