News
Friday, March 12, 2010
Supreme Court warns police of stern action over torture* Justice Sair Ali says policemen involved in public flogging
incidents should be treated in a ‘tit-for-tat manner’By Masood Rehman
ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court bench on Thursday directed the federal and provincial inspector generals of police and home secretaries to furnish detailed reports in three weeks on actions taken against police officials involved in torture on citizens across the country.
The bench comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Tariq Parvez was hearing a suo motu notice taken on the reports of police torture outside the Bhawana Police Station in Chiniot district.
The court also directed the Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) to furnish a report with affidavits from all the concerned police officers, assuring the court that there were no private police torture cells operating in Punjab.
The Court also directed the Punjab IGP to issue show cause notices to Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs) and Superintendent of Police (SPs) over the torture incidents.
The court ordered the closure of police torture cells in private houses in the jurisdiction of various police stations, and ruled that strict action be taken against the high ranking police officials under whose authority suspects were brutally tortured in public.
Justice Javed Iqbal termed the law and order situation in Punjab as poor and directed that practical measures be taken to avert such incidents in the future.
He said the IGs were not performing their duties efficiently and it seemed as if they had turned a blind eye to police torture on innocent citizens.
Taking serious notice of police torture cells outside police stations, Justice Iqbal said its ‘surprising’ that no one was looking into the matter. He said political interference must end so as to change the police culture.
Justice Sair Ali said the policemen involved in public flogging incidents should be treated in a “tit for tat manner.”
Punjab Advocate General Khawaja Haris told the court that a committee has been formed to look into the issue of police performance.
Justice Iqbal suggested the government adopt short-term policies to improve police performance instead of long-term policies. “It is high time that we should work in accordance with law for the betterment of people”, he said.
Punjab IGP Tariq Saleem Dogar informed the court that concrete steps were being taken to improve the performance of the police. He, however, said the media had exaggerated the incident of police torture at the Bhawana Police Station, Chiniot. He maintained that such acts of the media would demoralise the police. “We are not given respect, we are heading towards anarchy”, he said.
Justice Tariq Parvez replying to this stated, the job of the police is to maintain law and order, and they have to restore their respect.
While Dogar responded by saying, “we will restore our respect but give us some breathing space.”
Justice Iqbal ended by saying that the judiciary does not want to demoralise the police but it has to step in when human rights are violated.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk