An additional district and sessions judge directed an investigation SSP on Tuesday to look into why two FIRs were registered against 16 employees of the Federal Board of Revenue accused of blocking traffic during a protest demonstration.
The judge issued the order while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Azhar Javed, also of the FBR. He sought the recovery of 13 FBR employees and members of the Federal Revenue Alliance who had been arrested by Mozang police at a demonstration on December 24.
Javed said those arrested had been offering prayers for the children killed in the December 16 terror attack at a school in Peshawar. He said Mozang police took the protesters into custody and put them in the Old Anarkali lockup. He said he tried to get the workers released but the police threatened to implicate them in fake cases and kill them in a “police encounter”.
After that, Old Anarkali police also registered a case regarding the same incident.
Counsel for the suspects said the matter was not of a sensitive nature, yet the police had registered two cases against the FBR workers. He said this was sheer violation of procedure and an attempt to implicate his clients in a fake case.
The judge directed the Investigation SSP to look into the matter. He said the detention of the people appeared to be based on malafide intent. The judge ordered their release and directed the SSP to take departmental action against the policemen found guilty in this case.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 7th, 2014.