The news went viral this morning that a young Sakhawat Ali son of Sharafat Ali of Malika village near Galyana died due to police torture. An FIR was registered against an ASI and other employees of the same police station. The body was taken to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Kharian for an autopsy.
Father claims police tortured his son
According to the text of the FIR and the testimony of the father, on October 5, his son was taken into custody by the police from Kotla Arb Ali Khan and kept in a secret place instead of the police station. “They told me to take him away. When he reached the police station with the dignitaries, his condition was not good. He was badly beaten. On October 19, he vomited blood and died,” the father said.
Prior to the incident, Farzooq Dar, nephew of PTI leader Mumtaz Dar, was reported to have snatched a mobile phone. Mobile phones were snatched from the hands of and escaped. The report was lodged by Farzooq Dar in Kakrali police station and all mobile dealers of Kotla were told to remain alert.
The next day after snatching a mobile phone from Farzooq Dar, a young man came to a mobile shop of Kotla Arb Ali Khan to unlock his mobile phone. He was later handed over to the police where he said that he was brought by Shoaib alias Shebi, a resident of Klik Kotla. He said, “Let’s go together to unlock the mobile”. Meanwhile, Shoaib alias Shebi had escaped.
Farzooq Dar says that during the interrogation, Queen Sakhawat Ali had said that Shoaib alias Shaibi had snatched his mobile phone and he sent me to play with the lock. The family members came and the dignitaries asked for a respite of a few days saying that they would present Shoaib.
Officials of the Mobile Association said that the real accused in snatching the mobile phone from Farzooq Dar was Shoaib alias Shebi, who is still absconding. “We had also told the police station that Sakhawat Ali seems to be innocent” they added.
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SHO Kakrali Police Station Liaqat Gujjar said that on October 5, a boy named Sakhawat Ali was handed over to the police by mobile dealers who had come to unlock the snatched mobile phone. He said that the mobile phone belonged to Shoaib alias Shebi Sakna Click He sent me to play with his lock. He further added that the dignitaries came and took Sakhawat Ali with them saying that they would present Shoaib alias Shabi.
According to SHO, Shoaib alias Shabi is an addicted drug addict who sits in the graveyard and does drugs etc. They further claimed that Sakhawat Ali was also addicted to drugs. On October 6, he was taken away by his family. He passed away yesterday, for which the police station claims it is not responsible.
What the villagers have to say
Villagers say that the late Sakhawat Ali used to work at a petrol pump. His father Sharafat Ali is a pious man and a five-time worshiper. “The family is very poor but noble” they claimed. It was out of the mere fear of being disrespected and ridiculed by the people that the family decided to keep the happenings a secret. Nonetheless, all was revealed in close to no time.
The father of the deceased said that when they brought Sakhawat Ali from the police custody, his condition was abnormal and his lower body was paralyzed. He said that the policemen sat on him and tortured him severely. It is clear that he was subjected to inhumane torture, claims Siasat News Pakistan.
Only post-mortem reports can determine the cause of death. The dead body was taken to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Kharian. MS said that there was a police party in the incident so his autopsy would be done at Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Hospital Gujrat while the heirs of the deceased said that we should get justice from Gujrat district. Therefore, postmortem of our child should be done from District Headquarters Hospital Jhelum.
According to sources, DPO Gujrat has immediately suspended SHO of Kakrali police station Liaqat Gujjar, ASI Iftikhar and four employees and set up an investigation committee headed by KSP Investigation and demanded a report. Meanwhile, the heirs of the deceased protested on GT Road for several hours.