SC fumes at Sindh police for not nabbing feudal

ISLAMABAD – Expressing concern over the rude behaviour of a feudal lord and his henchmen with the Sindh police, the Supreme Court yesterday asked the police why the main accused could not be arrested.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar was hearing the suo motu case of rude behaviour towards the police. Feudalist Nawab Zaid Talpur along with his co-accused entered a police station in Kunri, district Umerkot, and maltreated the station house officer (SHO).

The footage of the episode that went viral on the social media showed Talpur asked the SHO to sit on the ground before speaking to him, while he himself was sitting in the police officer’s chair. According to reports, the accused were initially arrested, but later they were released owing to the alleged political intervention.

The court snubbed Mirpurkhas DIG Javed Ohdoro stating that it seemed the police were not taking interest in the arrest of the feudal lord. The court observed the incident took place on May 2 and the police had so far failed to arrest the accused. Justice Atta Bandial asked the DIG to uphold the prestige of the force.

The DIG told the court that Talpur and Asif Pathan had obtained protective bail from a court. The court noted that a total of six accused were involved in the case, but the police could arrest only two.

When the DIG said that he had come to know through a newspaper report that the accused had been arrested, the chief justice remarked: “You don’t know when the accused obtained bail and for how many days”.

As the DIG said the SHO of the police station and the DSP had been suspended for not informing the high-ups of the incident on time, Justice Faisal Arab observed both these officers had been placed under suspension at the behest of the feudalist. “It seems the police department does not care about its own respect,” the judge observed.

The DIG said Talpur had recently joined a political party. “The feudalist had come to the police station on the arrest of one Ali Gul Capri,” the DIG said.

During the proceedings, the chief justice asked the DIG to obtain details of the bail on phone and submit the same after the break.

After the break, the police filed details of the protective bail granted to the accused. According to the details, accused Talpur got protective bail till May 23 and Asif Pathan till May 18.

Justice Atta Bandial remarked had the SHO shown courage, he could have arrested the accused.

The hearing was adjourned for three weeks.

Source: The Nation