A seventh-grade student died in mysterious circumstances in police custody here on Sunday. The incident sent shockwaves on social media. It triggered a protest by the relatives and local people outside the police station.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Mahmood Khan suspended the entire staff of the police station. He also ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident.
What really happened?
According to police, they arrested the student identified as Shahzaib on Sunday. He was a resident of Warsak Road. Why? Because he exchanged some hot words with a shopkeeper and pointed a weapon at him.
Later, the police arrested Shahzaib on the complaint of shopkeepers in Liaquat Bazaar, according to Dawn.
The police registered an FIR against Shahzaib under Section-15 of the Arms Act on the complaint of the shopkeepers. However, later Shahzaib committed suicide inside the lockup, said the police.
However, in a video message, Shahzaib’s father Khyal Mohammad alleged that his son died due to police torture in the lockup. He said his son went to the bazaar at around 2pm to make his pictures needed for the school examinations.
Mohammad said the police called him on his mobile phone at 3pm that his son was with them in the lockup. He added he reached the police station within half an hour.
“When I reached the police station the police didn’t tell me anything for three hours about my son’s condition,” said Mohammad. “They told me later that my son had committed suicide by hanging himself with something in the lockup.”
According to him, Shahzaib police torture killed my son first and then they hanged his body. He demanded of the authorities to provide him justice as his son was treated inhumanly by police.
Protest over student’s death
A large number of people and relatives of the deceased student staged a protest outside the police station. They also blocked the busy Sunehri Masjid Road. They chanted slogans against the police highhandedness and misuse of power.
The road blockade caused heavy traffic rush on roads leading to the Peshawar Saddar for hours.
Officials said exemplary punishment would be given to the police officials if they were found involved in the killing of the student.
Speaking at a press conference, Chief City Police Officer Abbas Ihsan and SSP operations Yasir Afridi said the investigation was underway. The SHO Dost Mohammad was also arrested and put behind the bars.
The recklessness of police in Pakistan is beyond belief. Several people in the past had died in their custody, and no one cared. Remember 2019 alleged ATM robber case? Earlier this year, Islamabad police killed a young boy only for not stopping his car. They fired 22 shots at his vehicle.
Story Courtesy: Dawn
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