TAXILA: A high-level inquiry committee has found 23 officials of Attock police, including two subdivisional police officers (SDPOs) and two station house officers, guilty of staging a “fake encounter” in which one alleged car lifter was shot dead and another injured.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, internal accountability bureau, Mohammad Yousaf Malik, in his findings submitted to the Punjab inspector general of police (IGP) (copy available with Dawn) stated: “This unfortunate incident is a combination of illegal activities, avarice criminal resort to unnecessary force under the command of SDPO/DSP Fiaz Ul Haq and his clandestine team comprising Mazhar Hussain Shah SHO Hazro, Niaz Ahmed SHO Hassanabdal, Mohammad Sajjad Haider ASI police post Burhan and their 16 other close aide constables”.

The report said: “It is their routine affair that on any call for car lifting from adjacent districts of Rawalpindi, Haripur, Islamabad etc., they find an excuse to come over on the Motorway (M-1)’s various interchanges and start checking for non-customs paid vehicles, weapons, ammunition and other contraband. They capture and release them after receiving hefty amounts of illegal gratifications on a daily basis. Even the entire Rawalpindi region’s police is involved in such illegal earning activities along M-1 and M-2.”

The report revealed that “the unarmed and scared accused were unnecessarily fired at indiscriminately who could be arrested live. Resultantly, one of them namely Sajid was killed on the spot and Asif sustained firearm injuries from hardly 100-150 metres. Both the victims received injuries from behind.”

Committee orders suspension of two SDPOs, two SHOs and other officials

As the inquiry team has found the officials guilty of staging a fake encounter, the committee has directed concerned authorities to suspend SDPO DSP Fiazul Haq and SDPO Hazro Zaigham Abbas and not to post them in Rawalpindi region for next five years.

The inquiry committee has also directed the regional police officer (RPO) Rawalpindi to suspend SHO Hassanabdal Niaz Ahmed, SHO Hazro Mazhar Shah and ASI Sajjad Haider.

It has also directed to shift the investigation of the cases registered against the killed man outside the district to be conducted on merit.

The report contained recommendations for the RPO Rawalpindi and the DIG headquarters central police office to conduct separate departmental inquiries against 23 police officials of the Hassanabdal and Hazro police stations besides a five-member section of the elite force which participated in the fake encounter.

It may be recalled that on the plea of PTI MNA from Lower Dir Mehboob Shah and KP Assembly Member Hamayun Khan, KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had brought the matter of the fake encounter in the notice of Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar who directed IGP Inam Ghani to conduct an inquiry into the alleged encounter by the Hazro police on Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway in which one person was killed and another injured on July 2.

When contacted, the spokesman for district police, Sub Inspector Tahir Iqbal confirmed the findings of the probe committee, headed by deputy inspector general of police internal accountability bureau Lahore. He said in compliance of the orders, the station house officers named in the findings have already been removed from their posts and the lower grade staff sent to the district police lines.

Responding to another question, he said orders regarding sub-divisional police officers would be implemented in the next few days.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2021