CJP agitated over police’s inaction against PTI leader’s vandalism at Kunri police station

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar reprimanded the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Mirpur, for not having resolved the untoward incident at Kunri police station in which the police accused PTI activist Zaid Talpur, a feudal lord, of grabbing and thrashing an on-duty Station House Officer (SHO) Tasawwur Jatt.

The CJP had taken notice of the incident which took place on May 2, after video evidence of the brawl surfaced on news channels earlier in May.

Jatt, speaking to local reporters, had alleged that PTI’s local leader Zaid Talpur along with Hassan Talpur and five other associates “attacked the police station, abused the staff and grabbed and dragged me”.

Today at the Supreme Court, DIG Mirpur Javed Odho was supposed to present a comprehensive report to the court, detailing the incident and outlining the action that had been taken.

Progress on the matter, however, has not been as swift as the apex court would have liked.

“Why hasn’t the main accused been arrested?” asked the CJP, directing the question to the DIG.

Odho informed the bench that the accused, Zaid Talpur and his accomplice Asif Pathan, had been out on protective bail. He further apprised the bench that four persons, in connection with the incident, were on the run, while two had been arrested.

The Mirpur DIG complained that his subordinates, a SHO and a DSP, had not given him a satisfactory report on the matter, which is why he had suspended them. “I only found out about Talpur’s bail through news reports,” he explained, hinting at the inefficiency of the suspended SHO and DSP.

The CJP, however, sensed a different reason for the police’s apparent inaction. “It seems the police is not interested in making the arrest,” the CJP remarked.

Justice Umar Ata Bandial reminded that the incident had taken place on May 2 and asked: “Has there been any progress at all?”

“You [the police] are responsible for safeguarding the stature of your own force,” Bandial said, to which the CJP added; “It seems the department is not keen on upholding its own dignity.”

Justice Faisal Arab questioned how the accused was let go after being initially arrested on May 2.

“On whose call was Talpur released in the first place?” Justice Arbab asked.

The bench has scheduled the next hearing in three weeks’ time, asking the DIG to keep the court informed about the proceedings regarding Talpur’s bail and to — most importantly — come prepared with a comprehensive report on the matter.

Source: Dawn