SC directs IGP to supervise probe personally






ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court here on Tuesday directed Inspector General (IG) of Islamabad Police Binyamin to personally supervise the investigations into the case of brutal killing of an 11-year-old girl, after she was allegedly gang raped.A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry along with Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed heard the suo moto of killing and burning of minor girl. Questioning the competency of the junior ranked police officers to investigate the heinous crime covering all possible corners, the CJP observed that story presented in the case of Shahzadi was not satisfactory as many aspects had been left unattended so far.Police recovered the charred dead body of the girl from a dry gutter in sector 1-9 on February 16 as she went missing after she left her house at Bhara Kahu on February 13. The Chief Justice inquired from the IGP whether or not the police had traced the man who called the I-9 police and informed about the presence of a dead body.The CJP also observed that police had arrested a 60-year-old man suspected to be the abductor and killer of the 11-year-old girl. This aspect needed to be probed more as it apparently does not appeal to the common sense.Deferring the further hearing on the case till March 4 the SC directed the IGP to submit complete and comprehensive investigation report before the next hearing. The IG informed the court that they had arrested Qaiser 60-year-old, a retired Punjab government employee, while her daughter Mehak a final year MS student at National University of Modern Languages (NUML) had obtained pre-arrest interim bail.The IG said the first FIR was registered with Bhara Kahu police on the complaint of Muhammad Ijaz father of the deceased. According to the FIR, Shahzadi used to go for tuition at the house of Mehak every evening and it was on Feb 13 she went there at about 11:00am on asking of Mahek.She along with her younger brother Bilal went for tuition. As they reached there Qaisar asked Bilal to go to Bazaar and bring some juices. As he came back he was informed that his sister had returned home. Shahzadi never reached home. The Islamabad police chief further said a man named Shamash had also been apprehended from the locality where from the dead body had been recovered. He said the mother of the girl recognised her daughter from her clothes as the body was burnt beyond recognition.Online adds: The Chief Justice remarked that if daughter of a rich man had been killed in this manner, the police would have resolved the matter by now. He urged upon police to treat everyone in an equal manner.Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary observed that the police have not taken any action even after six days of the incident. At this, IG Bin Yameen said that it takes two to three days to obtain record of the case. Investigation would be conducted on merit, he claimed. Justice Gulzar noted that the police are deliberately spoiling the investigation process. IG Islamabad Bin Yameen further told the court that that an initial report has been registered in Bhara Kahu Police Station, and the accused was confined to his home on February 15. A woman involved in the case, namely Mehak is on bail-before-arrest, while the others are on physical remand, he added. IG Binyameen demanded for time till March 1 to investigate the matter. However, the court ordered him to arrest the criminals till March 4, 2013.

ePaper - Nawaiwaqt