Rawalpindi-Strange are the ways of investigations of Rawalpindi police that hype was created for some cases but the investigation is not being carried out in the right direction.
This has proved true in a recent high profile case involving a paedophile Suhail Ayaz who is accused of molesting 30 children after intoxicating them with drugs and recording nude videos in mobile phones besides uploading on Dark Websites to make money.
Though the police are claiming that Ayaz Suhail is also involved in similar kind of heinous crimes in Italy and was tried by a court there after which he was deported, yet the police failed in contacting the Italian Embassy in Islamabad through Punjab Home Department and Foreign Office to get details about the serial child molester, something that could move the investigation in right direction.
This slackness on part of police investigators can also ruin the case being probed by a high-level team, formed by City Police Officer (CPO) Muhammad Faisal Rana paving a save passage to the accused in court of law.
“Police are unable to approach Italian Embassy in Islamabad to obtain documentary proofs against the paedophile Suhail Ayaz in order to build strong evidence against him to be presented before court during trial,” informed sources on Saturday.
The sources, which are associated with the investigation of high profile case, also disclosed that the police bosses are concentrating more on media coverage instead of going into depth of the case to collect substantial evidences.
They said police are much concentrating in issuing statements and filing fresh FIRs against the accused but not collecting the solid evidences that could prove his previous conduct i.e. involvement in child molesting in Italy and the UK in the trial court in Pakistan.
They said through Foreign and Prime Minister Offices sprang up into action after surfacing the issue on media and sought details from police yet they had also not contacted Italian Embassy in Islamabad for further documents.
Background interviews of legal experts with The Nation also revealed that accusing someone of committing any heinous crime without having substantial evidences into hands of prosecution cannot be helpful in convicting the criminal during trial in court. Nadim Ahmed Advocate said the statement of any criminal recorded with police investigators under section 161 of CrPc has no value in the eyes of law until the investigators corroborate it with a piece of solid evidence.
Rawalpindi police should get all the documentary evidences such as First Information Reports by victim children with police stations concerned, the petitions filed with courts and the judgements of cases from Italian and the UK authorities to present it before the trial court.
“Here I make it crystal clear that the convictions or trial of Suhail Ayaz abroad will not affect his trial in Pakistani courts but it will help judges to review the previous conduct of accused,” he said.
Another expert of international criminal laws Malik Jawad Khalid Advocate also stated the court cannot convict any criminal without having solid evidences to be presented by the prosecution.
“Police investigators must have all the exhibit documentary evidences regarding previous crime of paedophile in the court to make the mind of judge to review previous conduct of serial child molester,” he said adding that it is also in the law that prosecution provides copies of previous judgements to the accused.
When contacted, Italian Ambassador to Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo said nobody contacted us in this regard so far. He said he came to know about the crimes of Suhail Ayaz in newspapers.
On a query, the ambassador replied, “No position or communication from the Italian authorities nor I have been approached by any authority in Pakistan on this case.”
A member of CPO’s high level investigation team Superintendent of Police Saddar Division Rai Mazhar, however, when approached by The Nation, said the cases against paedophile Suhail Ayaz are under investigation.
“Police are meeting all the legal requirements in the high profile case,” he said. It may be noted Rawat police held Suhail Ayaz aka Ali on charges of kidnapping, drugging and molesting 30 children in his villa in a private housing society.
Three separate cases were registered against the accused whom three other facilitators have also been arrested by the police. The accused is on a five-day physical remand with Rawalpindi police.