KARACHI : The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday ordered police to recover remaining 17 missing children after a recovered child presented in the court by police.
A high court bench, comprising Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, was hearing a case pertaining to missing children.
Police produced in the court 14-year-old Hasnain whose whereabouts had been unknown to his family for the past four years.
DIG CIA Police in a report informed the bench that missing Hasnain was staying with a Hindu family for two years, while other two years a police officer kept him at his home.
The boy’s father informed the court that Hasnain got infuriated at being slapped by his step mother and left the home. “It seems the police have briefed you and you are telling their version”, the justice remarked. “If the child himself has returned home, why the police are taking credit,” Justice Phulpoto questioned. The bench expressed disappointment over the police performance in the case. “Children in such a high number are missing but the performance of police is zero,” the Justice remarked. “The police story of Hasnain’s recovery is unbelievable,” the bench further said.
The court ordered the police to register a case and inquire into the actual facts of the matter. The court also ordered the police to recover remaining 17 missing children.
In an earlier hearing the police had told the court that the child run away from his home to escape from his studies and parents’ punishment. However, the child, contradicting the police account, said some people whisked him away from outside his residence and detained him in a house.
Censuring the police over flawed investigation, Justice Phulpoto asked, why the police didn’t question the owner of the house where the child was kept.
