AMBALA: The Punjab police detained and tortured a rent collector of the Punjab Wakf Board, belonging to the minority community for six days, at Pathankot.
The rent collector Mohammad Sharif told media persons, at Ambala Cantonment Wakf Board headquarters, here, last week, that he was picked up by the local police from the Punjab Wakeboard’s branch office in Indira Colony on November 30, He said that the police drove to the office of the deputy superintendent and took Sharif and another official Saddique away in a Gypsy. He said that Siddiqui was let off later while he was put in a police lockup.
He stated that the police detained him till December S. He was let off later that day.
On being released he narrated his tale of woes. He said that he had been beaten up brutally by the police to force a statement out of him regarding his alleged involvement with the Jammu and Kashmir militants. Sharif who was still in a state of shock after the police torture, disclosed that since he could not accede to the undue and illegal demands of his boss Mohammed Idris, an estate officer, the Punjab WAKH Board Dasuiya who had links with the police officials, threatened him with undue consequences if Sharif did not obey his senior.
He alleged that false allegations had been registered against him regarding his involvement with Jammu and Kashmir militants. He said that though he had been detained by the police for six days, no case had been registered against him. He expressed his gratitude to Minister of State Ragunath Sahai, an MLA from Sujanpur and Raj Kumar Chaudhary an advocate at Pathankot, who had helped him to get out of the custody of the police, Meanwhile, the Punjab WAKF Board has taken up the case of torture of Sharif in the hands of the police, which it alleged amounted to violation of human rights.
It is learned that the board secretary F.O. Hashmi, in a letter addressed to N.K. Arora, special secretary, (Home), Government of Punjab, has urged that a high level inquiry should be ordered into the conduct of the local police to Phish the defaulters. Hashmi also demanded a suit able compensation for Sharif who had suffered both physically and mentally for no fault of his.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 16, 1994
