BAHAWALPUR: The Civil Lines police on Tuesday booked seven of its officials under Section 302 of the PPC for allegedly torturing a man to death in custody on Monday night.

The policemen included Station House Officer (SHO) Farhan Hussain, a sub-inspector (SI), two assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs) and two constables.

The FIR registered on the complaint of Muhammad Sajid, the brother of the victim, alleged that Sagheer was picked up from his residence in Kachi Mohajir Colony, Shahdara on the night of Dec 27 as a suspected thief.

He alleged that SHO Hussain, SI Muhammad Ahmed Cheema, ASIs Shehzad Pervaiz and Malik Muhammad Zulfiqar, and constables Shabbir Ahmed and Muhammad Abid allegedly tortured his brother to death in custody on Monday night.

The alleged killing triggered massive protests leading to closure of the main Fawara Chowk and its connected arteries for four hours. Meanwhile, after the postmortem examination, Sagheer’s body was handed over to his family, who buried him in a local graveyard.

However, the police have so far not confirmed the arrest of the cops booked in the case. Officials said a medical board would be constituted to probe the extent of the alleged torture and the cause of Sagheer’s death.

RESCUE EFFORTS: District Emergency Officer Baqir Hussain said Rescue 1122 saved 73,835 people during 2022, while 1,504 others died on the spot.

At a monthly review meeting, he said the control room received 241,252 emergency calls from across the district and were responded to within a few minutes.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2023