Anwar alias Kala died in police custody on Jan 14 in the limits of Jamshed quarters police station. Police claimed the suspect died of natural death while the widow of the deceased had accused police of having tortured her husband to death.
According to sources, the inquiry conducted into the death of another MQM activist, Asrar, has been finalised by the civil administration and a report has recently been submitted to the home department for a necessary action.
The report was finalised after a medical board recently exhumed the body of the MQM man who was allegedly killed in a police encounter last month.
Though there is no official word about the findings of the medical board, there are reports that the MQM activist had died of a head injury he had received from a blunt weapon.
Asrar, 27, an activist of MQM, was killed in an alleged encounter and had received a bullet in his stomach near his residence at Kalloo Hotel, Korangi and a SMG rifle was allegedly recovered from his possession by SHO Korangi police, Ejaz Shah. The alleged encounter took place on Jan 11, and an FIR No.19/99 was registered with Korangi police station.
According to family members of Asrar, no police encounter took place as Asrar offered his arrest to the police when he failed to flee the police raid.
The family members who claimed that they did not take part in the proceedings of the inquiry because of police fear, said that even though Asrar surrendered himself to the police at the house of his relatives in presence of several people, "he was killed by police in cold blood".
As far as other inquiries into deaths in custody are concerned, it is not yet clear what is the status of the inquiries conducted into the death of other people since Hakim Said's assassination in October.
These inquiries pertain to the death of MQM activist Fasih Ahmed alias Jugnoo, recruiting agent Mubashir Ali, Arman Danish. Besides, Abdul Salam, a carpet weaver, was allegedly killed by some people, who included a police constable, in Korangi.
Fasih Ahmed and Mubashir Ali were rounded up by police in the case of Hakim Said who was assassinated on Oct 17.
The civil administration launched a judicial inquiry into the death of Arman Danish, who died of excessive injuries, resulting in his renal failure, at a hospital.
"The deceased was arrested by Jauharabad police in FIR No. 21/1999, under Section 13-D Arms Ordinance," an order issued by the concerned deputy commissioner said.
Arman Danish, a 26-year-old engineer, was arrested by police on Jan 14 for possessing an illegal weapon. The police quoting family sources claimed that the boy had already been suffering from some kidney problems and once the boy fell ill he was handed to his family's custody.
However, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, claimed Arman Danish was one of its activists and he died of excessive torture at the hands of police.
The family of Danish Arman, who was the eldest brother of four sisters and two brothers, was tight-lipped over the circumstances that preceded his death. It was gathered at his residence that Arman was buried without post-mortem.
None of Arman's family members said a single word about how and when Arman was arrested by police, in what condition they received him and what did Arman tell them before he breathed his last on Thursday at Ziauddin Hospital.
Mubashir Ali, who was suspected by police for arranging the travel abroad of two of the suspects in Hakim Said case, died in police custody on Nov 28. His was the second death in custody in Hakim Said's murder case. Fasih Ahmed alias Jugnoo, one of the suspects in Hakim Said case, died in the custody of CIA police on Oct 23.
According to the report submitted by SDM, Landhi/Korangi, who was the inquiry officer in the case of Abdul Salam, who was killed on Jan 2, 1999, four persons had demanded extortion money from Abdul Salam and to recover that amount they entered his house at 1:50am in police uniform. On refusal, they started beating him and later fired shots at him. Salam fell and died on his way to hospital.
The inquiry officer examined Salam's wife and daughter, SI Salamatullah and also the deceased's medico-legal reports.
One of the accused was identified as police constable Faisal of Mehmoodabad police station. The other accused were Jamshed alias Behra, Mujahid alias Fauji and Jamal alias Kanta.
On February 25 in Hyderabad, enraged residents of Latifabad took to the streets in protest against the 'murder' of Gul Mohammed alias Gullu, a daily wage earner currently engaged in desilting work at Wadhu Wah.
According to available information, Gul Mohammad, son of Shafiq Mohammad, was picked up by A-section police from Katchi Abadi of Unit No. 10 of Latifabad on Feb 16 along with another person, Nadeem. Police claimed that they were arrested from near Airport Road under section 13-D (arms ordinance) and that two separate FIRs were registered against them.
Gullu's uncle, Mr Sharif, said that police had been keeping the family puzzled over the charge framed against the detainee from the very beginning. He said the first words from the police were that he was accused of killing a watchman. He alleged that they were demanding Rs25,000 for his release.
Mr Chuttan, father of the other detainee Nadeem, narrated story about the detention and alleged torture on his son.
He claimed that he had paid illegal gratification for his son's release to the SHO, Zawar Sadiq.
Two hand-cuffed Muttahida Qaumi Move-ment activists were shot dead in an alleged police-terrorists encounter in Liaquatabad in the morning of March 8, 1999. The Sindh government has decided to hold an inquiry into the alleged encounter.
The police claimed the under-custody suspects were killed in an encounter after they were fired upon by some terrorists. The families of the deceased and the MQM accused the police of killing the two unmarried youth, both cousins, in cold blood from a point blank range.
According to police, the suspects, Shamim alias Shamoo and Farid alias Ganja received three and four bullets, respectively, and they were handcuffed when they were fired upon by the terrorists. Edhi sources also claimed that the bodies were handcuffed when they were removed from the place.
The police also claimed that one of the suspects received a bullet shot from behind when he tried to look for the shelter.
Some reports, which were denied by police, claimed that there took place no encounter as there was no vacant house which was used by alleged terrorists as a fortified place for attack on the suspects.
Jamil
Ahmed Khan an activist of Muttahida
Qaumi Movement was killed in highly mysterious circumstances on
March 11, 1999, putting the death toll of alleged 'extrajudicial
killings' during the past three days at three.
On February 23, when he was about to go to
Lahore to arrange the speech of the party chief to the Lahore
High Court Bar, he was arrested vide FIR No: 85/99 under section
324/353, CrPC, by SHO Azizabad, Ghzanfar Kazmi. Later, Jamil, was
produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate Central 1, Javed
Awan. The magistrate remanded him to police remand for two days.
He was scheduled to be produced again before the same court for
next hearing on February 28, but he was produced before the court
on March 2. This time, he was sent to jail.
Medico-Legal Officers (MLOs) who conducted
the postmortem reserved the cause of death and sent his viscera
for chemical examinations. Sources at the hospital, who had seen
the body, however, claimed that they found some marks of
injections visible on the body.
