Chakwal CCD incident: Victim's father alleges robbers did not fire, police forced him to sign blank paper

CHAKWAL: A new twist has emerged in the killing of nine-year-old Hania Ahmed as her father claimed that the robbers did not resort to shooting; rather, the incident occurred due to direct firing by a cop of the Crime Control Department (CCD).

Hania, an Australian citizen visiting Pakistan, was killed on the spot on the night of June 10 in Chakwal city during a robbery incident due to firing by a CCD official. Her father, Adeel Ahmed, and her 11-year-old brother Affan were seriously injured, while her mother Dr Sidra Khan remained unhurt.

The incident sparked international concern. Admitting the CCD’s mistake, the Punjab police and the department have described the incident as a case of “criminal negligence”.

In an application submitted to District Police Officer Kashif Zulfiqar on Tuesday, Adeel alleged that City Police Sub-Inspector Ahsan Abdullah misrepresented the incident in the first information report (FIR) by mentioning that robbers opened fire.

In the application, a copy of which is available with Dawn, Adeel alleged that when he was brought to District Headquarters Hospital in critical condition, Constable Ateeque was present at the police service counter and misbehaved with him.

The father recalled that when City Police Station personnel arrived at the hospital, Constable Ateeque and sub-inspector Abdullah listened to the entire incident and then allegedly pressured him to sign and put his thumbprint on a blank paper, saying he would only then be allowed to see a doctor.

He added that he and his son were injured, his daughter had already passed away, and his wife was in severe distress due to shock.

Adeel further stated that after getting him to sign and mark his thumbprint on the blank paper, he and his son were taken for a medical examination. Due to their critical condition, the doctor referred both of them to Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital in Rawalpindi.

In his application, the father stated that when he came to Dhudial the next day to attend his daughter’s funeral, he met CCD Sub-Inspector Muhammad Irfan, as the investigation had been transferred from City Police Station to the CCD.

It was then, Adeel said, that he came to know that the incident had occurred due to direct firing by a CCD constable. He also learned that the statement based on which the FIR was registered was allegedly altered by sub-inspector Abdullah, who entered Section 322 (unintentional murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) instead of Section 302 (intentional murder), even though the contents of the FIR indicated intentional murder.

The FIR had attributed the firing to unknown persons who had snatched jewellery from Adeel’s wife and then later took cover behind a vehicle, from where they fired the shots.

“This was fabricated by the Sub-Inspector Ahsan Abdullah solely to benefit the accused in the case,” Adeel alleged.

The bereaved father further stated that he provided all the details to CCD Sub-Inspector Muhammad Irfan, who recorded his statement in his presence, which was based on facts.

Adeel requested legal action against Abdullah and Constable Ateeque so that their “malicious intentions” could not negatively affect the case in any way.

DPO orders inquiry; police deny father’s claims

Taking action on Adeel’s application, DPO Zulfiqar directed the Headquarters’ deputy superintendent of police (DSP) to conduct a fact-finding inquiry, asking him to call the complainant by phone if he returned to Australia.

The DPO further directed the inquiry officer to complete the investigation within three days.

When contacted, a senior police officer at City Police Station termed Adeel’s allegations as “baseless”.

He said the FIR was registered in accordance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and in the presence of the affected family members.

“The constable who has been accused of misbehaviour did not misbehave. In a situation where a family’s innocent child has been killed, the father and brother are seriously injured, and the mother is in severe shock, no one could even imagine misbehaving with such a family,” the officer added.

On June 18, CCD Additional Inspector General Sohail Zafar Chattha had said the policeman nominated on murder charges would not get any sympathy from the police, and that the charge-sheet would be completed within a week.

The CCD, established last year, has been criticised by human rights advocates and civil society members for alleged extrajudicial police encounters and a high number of casualties.

In February, a fact-finding report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) alleged that the CCD has adopted a “deliberate policy of staged police encounters leading to extrajudicial killings”.