KARACHI: Question mark over undertrial’s death
KARACHI, Feb 27: An undertrial prisoner charged with killing a policeman died early Monday morning of what the authorities termed “cardiac and respiratory failure” after being rushed from the Central Prison to the Civil Hospital Karachi.
The family of 34-year-old Khalil Ahmed told Dawn that he had been in perfect health two days earlier and though the body bore no visible marks of torture, blood had oozed out of the victim’s ears and mouth.
They further pointed out that they were informed of the death at around 10am on Monday morning although officials confirmed that the death had taken place at 4am.
No autopsy was conducted on the body, reportedly because the deceased man’s elder brother requested this in an application filed with the magistrate. However, a lawyer specialising in criminal cases told Dawn that a magistrate was not legally authorised to direct a medico-legal officer to refrain from conducting a post-mortem examination.
According to an official of the Risala police, who conducted the inquest proceedings for handing the body over to the victim’s family, the deceased man’s elder brother, Abdul Waheed, filed an application with the magistrate submitting that the family did not want a post-mortem examination conducted because they had to take the body to a remote area for burial.
However, leading lawyer Shahadat Awan, who specialises in criminal cases, said that the magistrate did not have the authority to direct the medico-legal officer to refrain from conducting the post-mortem examination that was required under the law of the land. “The procedure is conducted in order to ascertain the cause of death and must be carried out, particularly in cases of custodial deaths,” Mr Awan told Dawn. “The consent of the family is not even required. Meanwhile, if an autopsy is to be withheld, the consent of all of the victim’s legal heirs is required since any of them can later move the authorities for an investigation into such deaths. But in this particular case, the magistrate was neither a trial court nor an investigation officer, and he did not have the authority to have the autopsy withheld.”
‘Release on bail was due’
Family members added that Ahmed had been due to shortly be released on bail.
Charged with the murder of a constable, Ahmed was also booked in two drugs-related cases registered with the Pak Colony police. The first case against him was registered in 1997 for the possession of drugs, and he was reminded in judicial custody on August 5, 2002. According to his family, he was shortly due to be released on bail and efforts had been under way to arrange sureties for his release.
One of his cousins told Dawn that Ahmed had been in very good health despite being asthmatic. “We are quite suspicious about his mysterious death and are probing the matter ourselves,” he commented.
Jail authorities said that the victim, Khalil Ahmed, had been lodged in the prison since 2002 and was a chronic asthma patient, as a result of which he regularly visited the jail doctor for treatment. They told Dawn that the prisoner’s condition deteriorated on Sunday night and he was taken to hospital a little before midnight but died at around 4am due to what the authorities termed “cardiac and respiratory failure.”
Ahmed’s family, however, maintained that he had appeared quite well a couple of days ago when he was brought to the court for a hearing in the case against him.
Asked why the victim’s brother prevented an autopsy from being conducted, the cousin said that the family elders were of the view that it would have been pointless. “We are on the case and are trying to contact Khalil’s jailmates in the effort to find out what actually happened to him,” he added.
A resident of Mangophir’s Hasan Aulia village, Ahmed’s immediate heirs include two sons.