Inquiry in Karachi does not substantiate claims in scuffle case
An official inquiry into a scuffle at a residential building in DHA Phase 6 in Karachi, Pakistan, concluded that the claims in the police-registered First Information Report (FIR) were not supported by the evidence collected. The report also recommended disciplinary action against police officers who were present during the incident.
As Dawn reports, the inquiry was ordered after CCTV footage spread on social media. The video shows one woman striking another with a dumbbell while two people in what appears to be police uniform restrain the woman who was attacked. At the same time, the FIR was filed against that woman and her brother.
Parking dispute
The report was prepared after examining documents, departmental materials, CCTV footage and mobile phone videos. Statements from 13 people were also recorded during the inquiry.
According to the inquiry's findings, the conflict began over parking between the mother-in-law of Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police Fida Hussain Janwari and another resident of the building. The document identified the police officers in the video as constables Saqib and Haider Sultan.
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The report identified the man in civilian clothes who smashed a CCTV camera as Constable Taimur Ahmed. According to the inquiry's findings, the weapon was handed to him for this purpose by Constable Amir Sohail. All four, the document said, were assigned to duty at the private residence of the Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police.
Inquiry recommendations
The report's authors recommended registering a separate police case against the official's mother-in-law, her daughter and son, as well as against the police officers present at the scene. They also proposed allowing the victims' family to initiate legal action at its own discretion.
The inquiry found the detention of the brother and sister at the scene by Darakshan police station chief Rashid Ali and Assistant Sub-Inspector Aftab Mangi to be unjustified. The report said these actions indicated that the officials favored the aggressive side. The investigator, identified as SIP Imran, was accused in the document of insufficient efforts to collect evidence, and disciplinary proceedings were recommended against these three officers.
The report's authors described the actions of Taimur Ahmed and Amir Sohail as exceeding lawful official authority and as potentially bordering on criminal conduct. Disciplinary action was also recommended against Saqib and Haider Sultan. The conduct of the Korangi Senior Superintendent of Police should be assessed, according to the inquiry's recommendation, under the 2020 discipline rules for civil servants.
