LARKANA: In a dramatic move, complainant and witnesses in the case of the Sept 15 alleged detention and manhandling of a judicial magistrate by an SHO and two constables in a Shahdadkot police station have retracted their earlier statements saying their allegations against the police officials were based on a ‘misconception’.

They withdrew the charges in their affidavits submitted to Larkana circuit bench of the Sindh High Court on Thursday. However, the court seized with the contempt of court case against the suspended SHO Anwar Brohi and two constables for detaining the judicial magistrate, ordered that charges would be framed against the alleged contemnors on Oct 2.

Advocate Habibullah G. Ghouri, counsel for the police officials, submitted affidavits of Zubaida Jamali, who had registered FIR against the SHO and others for allegedly detaining her husband Zahid Jamali, and witnesses Khalil Ahmed, Akbar Ali, Ghulam Mujtaba, Ali Akbar, Ali Raza, Ali Nawaz, Ali Haider, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Ramzan aka Raja.

The police officials’ replies in response to show-cause notices suggested they had denied the allegations as contained in the reference filed by district and sessions judge of Qambar-Shahdadkot and the raid report of the magistrate, said the order.

Additional Prosecutor General Ali Anwar Kandhro said that since the alleged contemnors had denied the allegations, therefore the matter be proceeded in accordance with law and the charge be framed.

Zubaida Jamali said in her statement that she had filed an application with district and sessions judge under Section 491 CrPC due to a ‘misconception’. “On Sept 11, a scuffle had taken place between us [her family] and one Irfan Ali Magsi, and on Sept 15 I came to know Magsi had gone to police station to register an FIR. Hence, my husband went after him to restrain police from registering the case against him,” she said.

“But after some time my husband returned home,” she said and retracted her earlier charge saying her husband [Zahid Jamali] was not under wrongful confinement, neither the ex-SHO or any other police official had misbehaved with the raid commissioner (judicial magistrate) nor had anyone snatched his cell-phone or roznamcha.

She claimed that contents of FIR (No.196/2023) were not read out to her.

Zahid Jamali confirmed in his statement that when he went after Magsi to the police station, he did not find the ex-SHO present there but around 10 to 12 people were sitting there waiting for him.

“When the raid commissioner arrived there with police I raised alarm to save my skin. After a little while, the ex-SHO and other police officials came in. The people sitting there informed the magistrate they were not under wrongful confinement,” he said.

“I left the police station after the raid commissioner went away. I was not under wrongful confinement while the SHO and other police officials had neither misbehaved with the magistrate nor the roznamcha or cell phone were snatched from him,” he said.

The raid commissioner was not restrained from leaving the police station by closing the outer gate of the police station, said Zahid Jamali in the statement.

“Later, I came to know that my wife Zubaida had filed an application for my wrongful confinement due to a misconception and with a view to stop police from registering a case against me,” he said, adding his statement was not recorded before a magistrate and his signature was obtained on a plain paper by a court official.

The other witnesses said in their affidavits that they had gone to the police station to meet the ex-SHO regarding law and order situation. They were not under wrongful confinement when the magistrate asked them while making a video as the ex-SHO was not present at that time, they said.

Zahid Jamali later left the police station by raising unnecessary hue and cry, they said. The ex-SHO and other police officials had not misbehaved with the raid commissioner nor snatched his cell phone or roznamcha, they said.

The raid commissioner was neither confined at the police station nor was the outer gate of the police station closed by anyone, they said.

The court adjourned the hearing till Oct 2 and asked the additional prosecutor general to submit a list of witnesses on or before the hearing day.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2023