ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) intends to hold a judicial inquiry into a ‘fake’ raid on a spa as it seems that the deputy inspector general operations Islamabad had apparently made junior police and the capital administration officials ‘scapegoat’.

IHC Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri directed Chief Commissioner Noorul Amin Mengal and Director General of Islamabad Administration Saeed Ramzan to examine the report submitted to the court by DIG Operations Syed Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari.

The court has summoned both the chief commissioner and the DG on April 26.

Justice Jahangiri was hearing the petition filed by the owner of the private spa operating in Bahria Town.

The petitioner claimed that unauthorised persons raided his premises, broke CCTV cameras and took Rs5,7000 from the cash counter.

The CCTV footage of the incident was played in the court which showed that some private persons without uniform forcibly entered the premises, holding wireless in their hands, knocking at the doors of the rooms of spa and asking male and female persons to come outside, then beating them besides taking money from the counters and damaging/breaking the CCTV cameras.

The DIG operations was called in the court and directed to conduct an inquiry. In compliance with the court’s order, the DIG submitted an inquiry report.

The report said Kamran, an alleged fake media reporter, Shahzad, a driver of Special Magistrate Amjad Hussain Jaffari, constable Tariq, an operator of the assistant commissioner rural and some other police officials were involved in the incident.

He stated that the driver of the special magistrate picked up an envelope and Wifi device from the counter, the constable threatened the female staff and another constable currently posted to the Koral police station misbehaved with the female staff of the spa.

ASI Naseebullah of the Loi Bher police station sent the complaint for registration of an FIR by mentioning wrong facts, the report said, adding the ASI was not present on the spot.

The police report recommended action against the fake reporter Kamran, driver Shahzad and constable Tariq and exonerated the assistant commissioner rural, special magistrate and Loi Bher SHO Akhtar Zaman, stating that they were not involved in the fake raid.

DG Islamabad administration Ramzan informed the court that action was taken after completion of all legal and codal formalities.

Mr Ramzan informed the court that “he does not believe in the findings of the inquiry conducted by the DIG (operations), Islamabad.”

He said the statement of Amjad Hussain Jaffari, special magistrate, was more reliable than that of the DIG (operations), adding the SHO and all the police officials mentioned in the FIR were present at the time of the raid.

Justice Jahangiri termed the matter of a “very serious nature”, wherein the lives, liberties, respect, honour and dignity of the male and female citizens of the country who were arrested and sent to jail (in a fake case as per inquiry report of the DIG operations) were at stake.

He observed: “If the petitioner has leveled false allegations against the officers of the law enforcing agency, he must be given strict punishment and if the inquiry report furnished by the DIG (operations) is not correct then disciplinary/contempt of court proceedings are liable to be initiated against him. If the stance taken in the court and report submitted by the director general (admin) is not correct, strict disciplinary action/contempt of court proceedings will be initiated against him for submitting a false report.”

The court added: “Prima facie, the matter needs to be thrashed out through the judicial inquiry conducted by learned sessions judge, Islamabad, or through independent law enforcing agency to unearth the truth.”

Subsequently, it directed the chief commissioner to examine the inquiry report submitted by the DIG (operations) and report submitted by the director general (admin) Islamabad and furnish his comments within 10 days.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2023