KARACHI: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday ordered the police authorities to suspend two station house officers who were facing investigation for allegedly killing a man in a fake encounter, and restrain the police from posting them in the province without seeking prior permission of the court.Sachal SHO Ismail Lashari and Sohrab Goth SHO Shoaib Siddiqui were allegedly involved in the killing of 17-year-old Anisur Rahman Soomro in June 2014.

On a petition of the victim’s father, Anwer Ali Soomro, the Sindh High Court had ordered the registration of an FIR against the SHOs and other police officials.

SHO Lashari assailed the SHC judgement through an appeal before the apex court submitting that he was not given a fair hearing by the high court.

On Wednesday, a two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justices Amir Hani Muslim and Qazi Faez Isa ordered the Karachi police chief to place the two SHO under suspension. It also ordered that the two police officers shall not be posted anywhere in the province without the court’s prior permission.

The bench also asked CID DIG Sultan Khawaja to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit a report on the next hearing.

According to the victim’s father, Anis was a Class X student who was arrested along with his two friends by the Sachal Goth police near Safoora Goth in Gulistan-i-Jauhar on June 12, 2014.

He informed the judges that he had repeatedly visited the police station to learn reasons for the arrest of his son and his friends. But SHO Lashari demanded Rs500,000 for his son’s release and later killed him in a fake encounter, because he was unable to pay the bribe, he said.

Anwer Soomro had also filed a petition in the district and sessions court in Malir on June 20, 2014 against the illegal confinement of his son, informing the judge that the police had threatened to kill his son if he could not pay the bribe that they had demanded.

Following the hearing, an official raided the police station on the order of the district and sessions judge, but the young boy was not found there.

Mr Soomro said his son had been detained for 10 days at the Sachal police station before he was taken to a nearby Afghan refugee camp where he was killed on June 22, 2014. He said his son had never been associated with any religious militant group.

The victim’s father also told the judges that the police officers booked in the murder case of his son were forcing him to withdraw the case. Later, Mr Soomro told reporters that his son worked at electronics shop in Sachal Goth after doing matric from Larkana.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2015

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