From Abid Usman
LAHORE: Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti suspended SHO Sialkot Cantt on Monday after he failed to satisfy the court over the grounds for the arrest of anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan in court.
Subsequently, the CJ adjourned the proceedings until 1 pm with a clear intimation to DPO Sialkot of serious consequences as well.
Seeking original records pertaining to the journalist’s arrest, the court has also summoned deputy commissioner Sialkot.
The single bench was hearing a plea seeking directions to the concerned quarters to produce Imran Riaz Khan alleging he was being held under “illegal detention” by the police.
Khan is one of two journalists, staunch and vocal supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and his policies, who were arrested by the police on last week.
The government had swung into action and started a crackdown against PTI supporters after the arrest of former premier Imran Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court on May 9.
Khan was reportedly arrested at Sialkot Airport for allegedly inciting violence during clashes between security forces and PTI supporters, while anchor and television host Aftab Iqbal was detained from his Lahore farmhouse the same day.
Notably, during earlier proceedings, CJ Bhatti had directed the IG Prisons to produce the CCTV footage of Imran Riaz Khan’s arrival and release from jail by May 15. Furthermore, the CJ ordered the DPO to present the original record of the Roznamcha (police daily diary).
During proceedings, neither the SHO nor DPO could establish the reasons following which anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan was arrested.
As the original Roznamcha was produced before the court, a visibly frustrated CJ Bhatti censured SHO Sialkot Cantt for his unsatisfactory responses.
“You failed to mention where you received the detention orders, nor did you mention your departure or arrival at the police station and you could not even say who specifically had ordered you to take the anchorperson into custody,” the judge remarked.
“Did you have the detention order when you left the police station to make the arrest?” CJ Bhatti inquired.
