Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan remarked that why was police being awarded for a case that was their responsibility.
Islamabad, Pakistan: Strong indignation was expressed by Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan on over the offering of rewards to police officials by the government for arresting Abid Malhi, one of the primary suspects in the Lahore motorway gang-rape, on Monday.
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan inquired why the police are being rewarded for arresting a criminal when its duty to do so.
He questioned is it not the responsibility of the police to capture a criminal. He further commented that if the police do not consider arresting a suspect as its duty then what are there for. He remarked that this is a new tactic by the Punjab government.
Malhi was arrested from Manga Mandi, which is roughly 33 kilometers from the province’s capital, Islamabad. The culprit was arrested by Lahore’s Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) had arrested from Manga Mandi. The arrest was carried out after police released Malhi’s parents, brothers, and wife, allowing them to use their old mobile phone SIMs to trap him.
Geo News report disclosed that Punjab’s Chief Minister Usman Buzdar general Inspector of Police Inam Ghani had announced a special reward for the investigation team and CIA, a spokesperson Lahore police said.
Justice Khan also rebuked IGP police, who appeared in court today. He further stated that it’s completely absurd to reward police for arresting a criminal, capturing of whom is their duty. He further said that if this continues, policemen will first expect a reward announcement and then Nab suspects and then they will start working on the investigation.
The motorway gang rape, which happened last month, heated countrywide outrage after a woman mother to two was gang-raped off the Lahore-Sialkot motorway in front of her children after she ran out of fuel for the car on her journey to Gujranwala traveling late at night.
One of the prime suspects Malhi had managed to escape arrest for a month, bringing forth criticism of the police and other investigating agencies. Police after the incident had detained Abid’s family, including his parents and wife, in a bid to trace his whereabouts.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore, which was hearing the motorway gang-rape case, had censored media coverage of the motorway gang rape case after the investigating officer put forth concerns that impetuous media coverage was damaging the progress and value of evidence so far collected.
Following the Anti-terrorism court order, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) banned all television channels from airing news regarding the case.
The censorship on media coverage was suspended soon after Malhi’s arrest.
Abid ‘surrendered’ to police last night. Abid’s father, Akbar Ali, professed that Abid Malhi was not arrested rather his son surrendered, in a video message.
He said that his son called and told him that he was surrendering himself to the police. I asked my son to come to meet him at 6:30 pm. Criminals father explained that the suspect came to him in Manga Mandi, where he lived, He told the police that Abid has come and I am surrendering him.
The culprit’s father exclaimed that he is a laborer and old. He said that he has daughters and they’re in the [police] stations he said and requested the police to release them from custody.
IGP Inam when asked about the authenticity of the suspect’s father’s claim, he didn’t respond.
