Justice Mazhar Iqbal Sindhu of the Lahore High Court detained the officer in charge of investigations at the Chuhng police station for two hours on Tuesday for illegally keeping four people in detention.
The judge ordered Anwar Cheema’s arrest during the hearing of a petition for the release of the four detainees. The petitioner said that the officer had detained them without registering a case or producing them before a magistrate.
A bailiff recovered the detainees and produced them before the court. He reported that no case had been lodged against them.
Cheema was unable to justify his actions to the court, on which the judge ordered that he be arrested and put in handcuffs. Cheema was kept in court custody for two hours. He was then produced before the judge and made an unconditional apology. The judge reprimanded him and then ordered his release.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2013.