A fact-finding mission of the Ministry of Human Rights on Tuesday recommended that the senior superintendent of police (SSP), as well as other police officials, be replaced and a charge sheet be issued against them for "mismanagement" of the murder case of Dodo Bheel.

Bheel, a worker hired by the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), died on the night between June 30 and July 1, after being subjected to "intense torture" for several days by the company's guards over alleged theft in Sindh's Tharparkar district, according to his family.

The bereaved family had informed the fact-finding committee last month that Bheel and some of his co-workers were kept in illegal detention for many days and subjected to intense torture over an incident of theft. They said Bheel was handed over to the Islamkot police in critical condition and was eventually taken to the Hyderabad Civil Hospital, where he succumbed to his multiple injuries.

At the time, they had said his two other injured co-workers were also in custody of the police, who allegedly asked the families not to disclose what happened to the injured men. They said Bheel's post-mortem report showed 19 injuries inflicted on him with a blunt object.

In its report dated August 10, a copy of which was shared with Dawn.com, the fact-finding mission headed by Parliamentary Secretary for Human Rights Lal Chand Malhi recommended that the investigation of Bheel's murder be conducted by a joint investigation team (JIT) or a judicial commission since the "parents of Dodo Bheel have no trust in Sindh police's investigation and police have lost trust of local people."

Newly enacted police laws should also be implemented, it said.

The compensation announced by the Sindh government for Bheel's family as well as the two other injured workers must be released without any delay, it added.

"As Thar Coal Project is a national interest project and Tharparkar is a sensitive area, therefore, the transfer [and] posting of DC and SSP should be considered at collective level with consultation of stakeholders."

The fact-finding mission also recommended a number of steps for the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, including establishing a complaint redressal arrangement at the local level at the earliest, implementing labour laws, minimising the communication gap between the community and the company management and prioritising local residents when recruiting for higher positions.

Findings

The fact-finding mission's report pointed out the faults of the company's guards as well as the police for the way they dealt with the investigation of the incident.

It said the security staff of the mining company had "misused their authority by illegally confining labourers in their own premises and developed a wrong image of running torture cells inside the company".

It also held the company responsible for failing to establish a mechanism to check the misuse of power by its employees.

"The mission also observed the local police was not only biased [against] the workers and the labourers, but the senior officers were directly or indirectly aware of torture and mistreatment of the labourers by the private security staff.

"The mission also noted that the district police officials were visibly seen trying to manage the whole incident and distract from [the] core issue of torture and illegal confinement of workers," according to the report.

Protest

Following Bheel's death, leaders and members of the Bheel Intellectual Forum (BIF) protested for several days.

In the late hours of July 4, police suddenly moved into action and started baton-charging the protesters and tried to arrest some of the 150 protesters booked under certain sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act and Pakistan Penal Code.

Reports from Islamkot suggested that police also resorted to teargas shelling, causing chaos and panic. A number of people had been injured in the action.

The Sindh government had later announced a compensation of Rs10 million for Bheel's heirs and also promised them jobs.

Last week, the investigating officer in Bheel's murder case had urged that the first information report (FIR) lodged against the victim and eight of his co-workers by a guard of the company be quashed.

He submitted a detailed report in court and said that none of the nine workers, including Bheel, was found involved in the alleged theft.