LAHORE: A sessions court has observed that incidents of illegal detention of citizens by police and custodial torture have become an order of the day.

“It has become a common feature these days that the police take law in their hands by trespassing the houses of the citizens,” Additional District & Sessions Judge Hafiz Rizwan Aziz further observes, in a verdict on Saturday on the petition of a woman seeking registration of an FIR against police officials involved in keeping her daughter in illegal detention and subjecting her to physical torture.

Bushra Bibi filed the petition under section 22-A and 22-B of CrPC after Nawan Kot station house officer failed to register the FIR on her application against the policemen.

The petitioner stated that a team of Shahkot police station, Nankana Sahib district, raided her house in the wee hours of May 17, 2021 and took her son Behroz Tariq and daughter Maleeha Tariq, a teacher, with them.

She said the police personnel also took away six mobile phones and a laptop from her house.

She said the police later released her son, but kept the daughter in illegal detention and also subjected her to physical torture in the police station. A bailiff appointed by the Lahore High Court recovered the daughter of the petitioner.

On the other hand, the police claimed that the woman was nominated in the murder case of a doctor.

AD&SJ Aziz observes that the medico-legal examination certificate of Ms Maleeha shows that she received three injuries on her body, which supports the version of the petitioner against the police.

The judge remarks that article 14 (2) of the Constitution unequivocally prohibits torture, as no person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence. He notes that the custodial torture is also against the international law and Pakistan is a signatory to all conventions of the United Nations against the torture.

The judge has directed the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO) to look into the matter personally, record the statement of the petitioner woman and then proceed further in accordance with law in case any delinquency is found on part of the police officials nominated by the petitioner as suspects.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2021