LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ordered the Punjab police to proceed, in accordance with law, on a case registered against a US Consulate’s driver accused of crushing a man to death while driving a vehicle to rescue Raymond Davis involved in shooting to death two youths last month.
The court also directed police to record statements of the complainant and eyewitnesses.
Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry issued the order on a petition filed by Mohammad Ijazur Rehman, a brother of the deceased, Ibadur Rehman.
The petitioner submitted that he, along with his brother Sajjadur Rehman, was going towards Jail Road from Mozang on a bike on Jan 27 and Ibad followed them on another motorcycle. When they were near the Jail Road bus stop, he said, a Land Cruiser driven by a foreigner, violating the one-way traffic rule, hit and killed Ibad.
He said that a case had been registered on his complaint by Lytton Road police under sections 302, 427 and 34. He said that being a complainant in the case he had visited the police station for recording his statement and requested them to arrest the accused. But, he alleged, the SHO/in-charge investigation delayed the matter unnecessarily.
He said the police authorities were under pressure and used delaying tactics in recording evidence and statements of witnesses. He added that he had also complained to senior police officials, but to little avail.
The petitioner requested the court to order the SHO to record statements of eyewitness and take action against the accused.
AFP adds: Nauman Atiq, the lawyer of Ijazur Rehman, said his client was not satisfied with the police investigation.
“Police is telling us that they cannot arrest the driver or recover the vehicle because they cannot go inside the US consulate,” he said. But the court, he said, did not specifically address the issue of arresting the driver.
“Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry directed the Punjab government that it should investigate the case strictly in accordance with the law. He also ordered the investigators to record the statements of witnesses, including the brother of the deceased man.”
Assistant Advocate General Waqas Qadeer Dar, representing the Punjab government, said he told the judge that the court’s directions would be “fully complied” with.
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