From Abid Usman
LAHORE: The Punjab police has formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the death of a PTI worker during a crackdown a day ago on those participating in the party’s rally following the imposition of Section 144 in Lahore, it emerged on Thursday.
In a notification dated March 8, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Humayun Bashir Tarar ordered an inquiry into the “incidents of police clashes with [PTI] workers”, especially the death of Ali Bilal, a PTI worker who the party chairman Imran Khan alleged was “murdered by Punjab police”.
As the PTI was about to commence a rally yesterday to express its support for the judiciary, the government imposed Section 144, banning all kinds of gatherings.
Following the ban, police officials had taken scores of PTI workers into custody for violating the ban and used water cannons in an effort to disperse them which had led the PTI chairman to call off the rally.
Alleging that the police were behind Bilal’s death, Imran had shared a video that he said showed the worker alive while being transported to the police station yesterday. He also shared a photo of his body, with a streak of blood on his forehead. The inquiry team comprises Punjab Elite Police Force Deputy Inspector General Sadiq Ali and Lahore Capital City District Internal Accountability Bureau Senior Superintendent of Police Imran Kishwar.
The IGP has directed the committee to submit a report within three days after gathering statements from witnesses and all possible CCTV footage and video clips of the incident.
The notification listed seven questions that the committee has been tasked with investigating, four of which specifically pertaining to Bilal’s death.
The Punjab IGP asked what were the circumstances that led to Bilal’s death and when and where he died. He further asked if Bilal was in police custody “as reported on social media”.
The committee would also inquire “who took the deceased Bilal Ali (sic) to the hospital and what was the registration number of the vehicle”.
“Did the persons who brought him to the hospital take him to the medical team and disclose their whereabouts and from where was the deceased picked [up]?” the IGP asked.
Regarding the rally itself, the committee would look into its legal status and what led to the “clashes between the police and [PTI] workers”.
