A woman in Rawalpindi has approached the district judiciary, seeking the registration of a criminal case against police officials she accuses of abducting and later killing her brother in what she claims was a staged encounter.
Petitioner's Allegations of Raid and Abduction
In a petition filed under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code, Asiya Bibi, represented by her lawyer Muhammad Faisal Malik, presented a harrowing sequence of events to the court. She stated that on November 30, around 10:30 a.m., approximately ten police officers conducted a raid on her home in Dhoke Elahi Bukhsh without presenting any warrant.
Asiya Bibi alleged the officers damaged household items and, at gunpoint, seized a laptop, a DVR, and Rs 90,000 in cash. During the raid, they were inquiring about the whereabouts of her brother, Muhammad Naeem, popularly known as "Gudu."
Her petition further claims that later the same day, at about 3:30 p.m., she received information from a friend that her brother had been abducted by the same police team from a street in Chakwal. She asserts she personally witnessed officers forcing Gudu into a white Alto car near Committee Chowk. When she attempted to intervene, the vehicle dragged her a short distance, and a constable fired a shot at her, though she survived the incident.
Encounter Death and Police Response
The tragic turn came on December 1, when Asiya Bibi learned her brother had been killed in a reported police encounter at the Crime Control Department (CCD) in Chakwal. His body was at the District Headquarters Hospital. Through her petition, she has requested the court to order the registration of a case against the involved police personnel for the alleged illegal raid, abduction, and her brother's subsequent death.
In response, the Waris Khan police submitted a written reply to the court, dismissing the allegations as baseless. They countered that Gudu was a notorious drug peddler with 22 cases already registered against him. Their version states that on the evening of November 30, around 9:30 p.m., CCD officials in Chakwal signaled two men on a motorcycle to stop at the Sargodha Bypass. The individuals allegedly opened fire, leading to an exchange in which Gudu was killed by fire from his own accomplice, who managed to escape. The police have also raised a jurisdictional question, requesting the case be heard in Chakwal, where the encounter occurred.
Judicial Proceedings and Next Steps
The petition was heard on Monday by Additional District and Sessions Judge Sahibzada Naqeeb Shahzad. After reviewing the initial arguments and the police's written response, the judge has deferred the next hearing to January 7 for further arguments. This case highlights ongoing tensions between public allegations of police overreach and official accounts of anti-crime operations.
The court's forthcoming decision on whether to direct the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) based on the petitioner's claims is now awaited, setting a critical date for early January.
