IO to face trial for delaying charge sheet against cops in suspect’s escape case

karachi: Irked by the investigating officer dragging his feet to file a charge sheet against a number of policemen allegedly involved in the escape of the suspected kidnapper of Dua Mangi, a District East judicial magistrate on Wednesday sought initiation of legal proceedings against him for flouting the court orders.

Magistrate Sheikh Abbas Mehdi, through his reader (a court official), referred a direct complaint to a judicial magistrate (South) to prosecute the accused, Inspector Nisar Awan, for the offences defined under the Section 166 (Public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person), 174 (non-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant), 175 (omission to produce document to public servant by person legally bound to produce it), 176 (omission to give notice or information to public servant by person legally bound to give it) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

On January 27, Zohaib Qureshi, the main suspect in the Dua Mangi abduction case, had escaped from a shopping mall on Tariq Road. Later, the Ferozabad police booked the cops for taking the suspect to the shopping centre in a private car instead of taking him back to jail in a prisoner van, thereby facilitating him to escape.

The complaint stated that the first investigation officer, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ameer Bux, was removed and Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) Inspector Irshad Ahmed was tasked with the investigation on February 1. The IO was once again changed and replaced with Inspector Nisar Awan.

It pointed out that the interim or final investigation report, as required under Section 173 of the CrPC, was supposed to be submitted by February 11 but the investigating officer failed to furnish the same. Awan was issued with a show-cause notice to appear before the magistrate along with the report on March 22 but he didn’t show up nor did he submit any reply to the notice.

He was again served a show-cause notice to turn up in the court along with the investigation report on April 23 with a copy of the notice forwarded to the AVCC SSP to ensure compliance with the court order.

Subsequently, the IO appeared in the court and submitted a reply to the notice, which was rejected as “unsatisfactory”. He was issued with the third notice on May 20 but he didn’t bother to show up before the magistrate.

The complaint, therefore, demanded that the District South magistrate take cognisance of the offences committed by the accused police officer and a case may be registered against him. Dua was kidnapped in DHA in Karachi in November 2019.