LARKANA: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday issued directives for placement of an alleged contempt case against suspended SHO Anwar Brohi of the A-Section police station, Shahdadkot, in the court of Justice Shamsuddin Abbasi at SHC’s Larkana circuit for disposal in accordance with law.

The SHO was suspended, demoted and stripped of his position on Sunday for misbehaving with a judicial magistrate when the latter, in compliance of the Qambar-Shahdadkot district and session court’s order, conducted a raid on the police station a day earlier to recover an illegally detained person, Zahid Solangi, according to the Larkana DIG office. The SHO also detained the magistrate, Siraj Ahmed Shar, next to the lock-up and subjected Solangi to torture in front of him. He snatched the Roznamcha and mobile phone from the magistrate when the latter was discharging his official duty of recording the episode in the book. SHO Brohi then took away Solangi to some undisclosed place and both the persons have remained untraced till date.

The magistrate had brought the entire episode to the knowledge of the Qambar-Shahdadkot District and Sessions Judge, Zahid Hussain Maitlo, who referred the matter to the SHC registrar for a contempt of court case against SHO Brohi.

An FIR (196/2023) against the suspended SHO, an ASI, four constables and two unknown suspects was registered at the A-Section police station of Shahdadkot on Tuesday on the order of the Qambar-Shahdadkot District and Sessions Judge Zahid Hussain Maitlo.

The judge had passed the order on Monday while disposing of the habeas corpus application filed by Zubaida Jamali against illegal detention of her husband, Zahid Jamali. She stated that the respondents had picked up her husband from their home on Sept 11 and kept in illegal confinement at the police station until the SHO kidnapped him from the lock-up along with several other detainees on Sept 17. Their whereabouts were still not known, she said.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2023