RAWALPINDI/GUJAR KHAN: A man allegedly picked up by the police from his place of work two weeks ago was found murdered in the fields of Guliana on the second day of Eidul Azha, leading to the registration of a murder case against a sub-inspector and others on Tuesday.

The accused sub-inspector has been suspended following the registration of the case, but has yet to be arrested.

Saddar Division Superintendent of Police (SP) Rai Mazhar Iqbal told Dawn that no arrests have been made in connection with the murder so far. He claimed the investigation into the case will be carried out “purely on merit” and whoever is found guilty will be treated according to the law. He reiterated: “Investigation will be conducted on merit, merit and purely on merit.”

Murder case registered against sub-inspector, unidentified officials after man claims his brother was illegally detained, tortured to death

The initial post-mortem report suggests that the victim was tortured.

In his FIR, the victim’s brother, Chehari resident Ghulam Abbas said that on July 27, four people in police uniforms led by a sub-inspector came to his home and the sub-inspector introduced himself as a station house officer.

He said the officials were travelling in four vehicles, one of which was a double-cabin police vehicle.

He said the police entered his home and took him and Sohail Gondal into custody and asked them about the whereabouts of his brother Mohammad Ilyas. Ilyas worked as a tractor driver for Shaukat Ali.

He said they accompanied the police to Shaukat Ali’s home in Mandra at dawn and found Ilyas before he started work. Ilyas was taken into custody by the sub-inspector and driven away in a private car.

Mr Abbas said that when he asked what crime his brother committed, the sub-inspector told him his brother was involved in a car deal. He said that despite their efforts they could not find any information on his brother because the police had taken him to Gujar Khan.

He said that on Tuesday, they were informed that the police had taken Ilyas’ body to the Gujar Khan Tehsil Headquarters Hospital and were preparing to bury him after declaring him an ‘unclaimed body’.

He claimed that his brother’s tortured body was left in a deserted area on Guliana Road on Monday night, and Tuesday morning the sub-inspector and other police officials were preparing to bury the body as an unidentified individual.

He said he reached the site where they allegedly planned to bury his brother after he learned of the plan.

Mr Abbas said that when he saw his brother’s body, he found that he had been tortured. He then told police high-ups that his brother was illegally detained and tortured to death by police, after which a murder case was registered against the police officials.

Local residents and the victim’s relatives later blocked the G.T. Road to protest the police’s actions.

Station House Officer Chaudhry Ilyas said he was only posted to his office a couple of days ago, and the victim’s detention and custody was not in the notice of the police station.

He said the accused sub-inspector may have kept the victim at a personal location, adding that an FIR has been registered against him and unidentified accomplices.

He said the accused official escaped from the graveyard and raids are being carried out to apprehend him.

Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Deputy Inspector General of Police Mohammad Faisal Rana took notice of the body found in the jurisdiction of the Gujar Khan police station whose heirs have claimed the victim died under police violence.

The CPO said that a case may be filed after obtaining a written application from the heirs of the deceased.

A case was registered under section 302/34 with the Gujar Khan police.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2019