A police officer was suspended and arrested on Thursday for his alleged role in triggering a violent clash between lawyers and police in Faisalabad on Wednesday.
Samundari Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Ilyas has been charged with abuse of power, Inquiry Officer Imran Kishwar told The Express Tribune on Thursday.
The lawyers had staged a protest demonstration against Samundari City police on Wednesday accusing it of illegally arresting a district bar member, Advocate Chaudhry Abdul Lateef.
“The protestors demanded that Lateef be immediately released.
They said police had arrested him even though a court had granted him bail.”
“When the lawyers locked the district courts in protest Station House Officer Muhammad Ilyas forcibly opened the gates.” Kishwar said Ilyas called additional police force to deal with resistance put up by the lawyers.
“The Samundari DSP had asked him to resolve the matter. Instead he ordered that the lawyers be baton-charged.”
Kishwar said more than a dozen lawyers were injured. He said the SHO had registered a case against 14 lawyers.
District Bar Association President Tanveerur Rehman Randhawa and former federal minister Rana Farooq Saeed Khan who visited the injured lawyers at tehsil headquarters hospital demanded immediate action against official(s) responsible for the lawyers’ injuries.
Randhawa said, “Chaudhary Abdul Lateef is nominated in a case… but he had been granted a bail… the lawyers were protesting because the police had arrested him.”
“The police took the law into their hand by resorting to baton-charge.”
The injured lawyers have been identified as Rana Naveed, Waheed Khan Lodhi, Yasir Hafeez Butt, Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad, Rana Amjad, Chaudhry Tufail, Khan Afzaal Lodhi, Ehsan Zia, Irfan, Irshad Ahmad Shad, Mian Bismillah, Saeed Warraich and Atif Ali Tatla.
City Police Officer Haidar Ashraf had formed an inquiry committee to probe into the matter. Inquiry Officer Imran Kishwar said the committee had found Station House Officer Ilyas guilty of abuse of power.
“The CPO has suspended SHO Ilyas. He has been arrested,” he said.
Meanwhile, the District Bar Association on Thursday boycotted the courts. The lawyers took out a rally from the district courts and demanded immediate action against policemen responsible for lawyers’ beating.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2014.