PESHAWAR: The death of a murder suspect in a police lockup allegedly due to torture prompted the deceased’s family to block the Grand Trunk Road outside the provincial assembly here on Wednesday.

The demonstration led to the suspension of traffic on the major artery for long hours.

The protesters alleged that SHO of Michni Gate police station Rafeeq Khan raided the house of Noor Nabi Shah, a resident of Daudzai area on the outskirts of the provincial capital, and took him away for allegedly killing 33-year-old Haroon Shah.

They added that Haroon’s family didn’t nominate Noor in the FIR.

During the protest, Noor’s relatives captured the body on film and released those images on social media.

CCPO suspends SHO, orders probe into torture complaint

The protesters, including women family members of the deceased, kept the key road blocked for many hours.

The deceased’s brother-in-law, Naveed Shah, said that under the law, the police couldn’t detain anyone for more than 24 hours, so Noor was kept in illegal custody for around a week.

“I told the SHO that Noor Nabi Shah was innocent, and even Haroon Shah’s relatives told the police that Noor was not involved in the killing,” he told reporters.

Following the protest, Capital City Police Officer Syed Ashfaq Anwar suspended the SHO and ordered an inquiry into the matter.

The police lodged a case booking the SHO under Section 302 of PPC.

The protesters alleged that the murder suspect died in custody after being tortured by police.

A statement issued by the city police read that the deceased along with two other men, including Abid Shah and Sarwar Shah, were charged in an FIR with killing Haroon Shah.

It added that the Michni Gate police received intelligence about the presence of the accused, so a raid was carried out leading to the arrest of the accused.

“They [accused] were arrested and locked up at a police post where the deceased’s health worsened, so he was shifted to the hospital, where he died,” it read.

It also read that further investigation into the incident would be carried out after the police received the postmortem report.

SP Warsak Arshad Khan told Dawn that the deceased’s body had visible marks of torture.

He, however, said the postmortem report would confirm or deny torture by police.

Mr Khan said though the police had registered a case about the death of the murder suspect, only the postmortem report would reveal anything about it.

He said whoever committed a crime, they should be dealt with under the law.

Meanwhile, the police arrested four people, including an Afghan national, for allegedly kidnapping a man and demanding $0.2 million ransom for his release.

Peshawar Superintendent of Police (Rural Division) Zafrullah told reporters that Tafseerullah was kidnapped from the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation Colony on Aug 6 and was shifted to Baghwana area on the outskirts of the provincial capital.

He said that the kidnappers locked Tafseerullah’s brothers inside a washroom and the kidnapped person was chained and kept inside an empty house.

The SP said that the police, utilising all available resources, began probing the case before identifying the location where a raid was carried out to recover Tafseerullah.

He also said that four people, including an Afghan national, were taken into custody over the abduction and that they all were being interrogated.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2023