LAHORE, Nov 10: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Thursday ordered the Sialkot police to register criminal cases against three Daska police officials, who had arrested a citizen and implicated him in drug trafficking.

Comprising Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif and Justice M.A. Shahid Siddiqui, the bench also directed the Gujranwala Range DIG and the Sialkot DPO to produce the challan of the case in court after registering an FIR against inspector Tariq Mahmood and sub-inspectors, Munawwar Husain and Zulfiqar Ahmad, under the Police Order.

The court observed that the three police officials not only arrested Arshad Mahmood in a false case, but also tortured him in unlawful custody. Such officials, the court observed, were bringing a bad name to the department and deserved no compassion.

The court proceeded on a bail petition moved by Arshad, who submitted that the three officials of the Daska police took him into custody without any reason and tortured him in the lock-up.

The next day, he said, he was shown an FIR according to which they had recovered 48 kilograms of marijuana from his possession. The police officials subjected him to third-degree torture for several days later, he said.

The petitioner submitted that the area DSP inspected the case on his request and found him innocent. The court allowed him to be released on bail and asked the Daska police to submit a report that why the three police officials had not been proceeded against when the DSP report exonerated the petitioner.

BAIL: Meanwhile, the LHC confirmed the bail of Prof Laeeq Ahmad, the returning officer in the recent local elections in Bhakkar.