Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information of another case of police brutality. A psychiatrist has been half fried by police officers, who mistook him for a wanted criminal. Dr. Deepak Raj, a psychiatrist, lost his leg, which received 12 bullets, while his other leg and arm also damaged badly. Dr. Raj was grilled by the police in relation to the Hyderabad police being given the task of arresting or killing a notorious robber, Shareef Panhwar, who has a bounty of Rupees 2.5 million on his head.
Dr. Raj is currently under treatment at Jinnah Post Medical Centre, Karachi’s largest state owned hospital. He has lost his means of livelihood and has been maimed for life. The police officers admitted their mistake and had been paying for his treatment. However, they have stopped paying his medical bills after media reports circulated. The influential officers have threatened to withdraw all financial support if Dr. Raj takes the case to the media.
The latest modus operandi for the Pakistan police, especially the Hyderabad police, is to either maim a person for life or kill them. The police officers openly admit extrajudicial killing as feather in their cap to curtail the wave of crime that has engulfed Sindh Province.
CASE NARRATIVE:
Dr. Deepak Raj is a psychiatrist, who received his post graduation degree in psychology from Sindh University. On April 10, he was on his way to meet a relative. He stopped by at a small teashop to relax and have a cup of tea. A few minutes later, police officers dressed in civilian clothes raided the shop and fired at Dr. Raj. The officers kept calling Dr. Raj Shareef Panhwar. His cry that he is not Shareef fell on deaf ears. He told the police officers that he is not even a Muslim and that his name is Deepak.
Dr. Raj was shot 15 times: 12 bullets to his left leg, two to his right leg, and a single shot to his right arm. The police officers said that he had been half-fried. The pain Dr. Raj experienced was excruciating and he wished they had full fried (killed) him instead.
Bleeding profusely. Dr. Raj was taken to the police station, where the police officers pressurized him to confess that he is Shareef Panhwar. Upon his refusal, the police officers hit his injured leg with rifles butts. They kicked his face and stomach and stomped on his legs. When Dr. Raj continued with his stance, the police officers realized that they had arrested the wrong man. They took him to hospital in a police van. According to Dr. Raj, they deliberately delayed seeking medical assistance, waiting for him to die. At 9 p.m. Dr Raj was taken to the emergency ward of the hospital. The police registered him as Shareef Pahnwar at the hospital. As he had lost much blood, the doctors had to amputate his left leg above the knee.
Today, he is unable to move his right hand; the doctors treating him fear that he may never be able to move his hand. Dr. Raj’s only crime was that he shares some resemblance with Shareef Panhwar, a notorious and hardened criminal.
The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Irfan Baloch has confirmed that it was a case of mistaken identity. But he has insisted that the encounter was genuine. He claims that the police killed two of his aides and injured one, while two others escaped. Sources in the Hyderabad police say that the matter is one in a series of fake encounters, which started in December 2014.
The police had been footing a Rupees 1.5 million medical bill, the hospital room charges, and medicines costing around rupees 25,000 per month. However, now it has been a month since the police have stopped paying Dr. Raj’s medical bills. Dr. Raj has only been able to procure Rs. 28,000 courtesy his friends and well-wishers.
The police officers have threatened him that if he reports the case to the media, they will not pay his bills and will leave him to rot. Dr. Raj is unable to afford the bills and take care of the needs of his wife and two-year-old son. Being the sole bread earner, he has been permanently denied livelihood. The lifelong disability caused to him due to police brutality is irreversible. Who will compensate him?
Though Dr. Raj has filed a petition against the police officers in the High Court, so far the case has not proceeded. The Court has served no notice to the police officers.
The injustice meted to Dr. Deepak Raj in the name of maintenance of law and order is unacceptable, arbitrary, and unlawful by all standards of international treaties, and even by the Pakistan Constitution and local laws. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Pakistan is a signatory, under Article 3 states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” ICCPR and other declarations forbid such a gross human rights violation.
Furthermore, under Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan, it is the responsibility of the State to protect citizens from unlawful killings; the Article states, “No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law.” However, all the relevant international instruments and laws are shown to be meaningless in the face of continuing extrajudicial killings.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
According to figures compiled by several human rights organizations, over 30 people have lost their lives and around 150 have been injured in fake encounters, in acts of violence the Hyderabad police commonly refer to as ‘full fry’ and ‘half fry’. Such extrajudicial killings and torture are undermining the credibility of police action and creating mistrust amongst the local populace of Sindh, particularly residents of Hyderabad. Media reports quote forensic doctors saying that police on occasion bring in bullet-riddled bodies, shot at close range. Many times, the doctors have removed handcuffs of the victims of police encounter.
On 3 July 2015 a final year student in University, named Toqier Mashori, was tortured to death in the Central Prison of Hyderabad, Sindh, within three days of his arrest. His family was asked by the police and prison authorities to pay large bribes for Mashori’s relief or else he would be “full fried”. Two of his fellow students were released after they paid the bribes. The victims were taken in custody on charges of preventing the police from doing their duty. However, when the family could not comply with the bribe demand, Mashori was booked in a case involving drug peddling. The victim was continuously tortured for three days, up to 18 hours a day. The torturers put him in conditions of scorching heat and beat him mercilessly. His corpse bears the marks of torture. Senior police officials have pressured the family to bury the corpse, without a post mortem. For information click this link.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letters to the authorities calling them to stop the practice of half fry and full fry by the Sindh police, who conduct fake encounters to try and show falling crime rates and in the process have made more than three dozen persons disabled. Please urge them to provide the best medical treatment to Dr. Deepak Raj, who was disabled by a police officer of Hyderabad, Sindh, who was looking to collect a reward for killing a notorious robber. The government must withdraw the first information report filed against Dr Raj, and all police officers involved in this half fry case must be prosecuted and be immediately suspended. The government and Sindh police must provide the best treatment Dr. Raj’s hand which is seriously damaged.
The AHRC will be writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Question of Torture and extrajudicial killings calling for their intervention into this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ………………..,
PAKISTAN: Sindh Police stop medical treatment of a half fried victim as punishment for contacting media
Name of victim:
Dr. Deepak Raj, son of Mangal, resident of Sanjer Chang Taluka Chamber District Tando allah yaar
Names of alleged perpetrators:
Irfan Baloch, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Hyderabad, Sindh
Ali Mohammad Mughal , Station House Officer (SHO) SITE police station Hyderabad, Sindh
Deputy Superintendent of Polce (DSP) SITE police station, Hyderabad, Sindh
Date of incident: 10 April 2015
Place of incident: Kali Mandir, Hyderabad, Sindh Province
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding yet another case of police brutality. A psychiatrist has been half fried by police officers, who mistook him for a wanted criminal. Dr. Deepak Raj, a psychiatrist, lost his leg, which received 12 bullets, while his other leg and arm also damaged badly. Dr. Raj was grilled by the police in relation to the Hyderabad police being given the task of arresting or killing a notorious robber, Shareef Panhwar, who has a bounty of Rupees 2.5 million on his head.
Dr. Raj is currently under treatment at Jinnah Post Medical Centre, Karachi’s largest state owned hospital. He has lost his means of livelihood and has been maimed for life. The police officers admitted their mistake and had been paying for his treatment. However, they have stopped paying his medical bills after media reports circulated. The influential officers have threatened to withdraw all financial support if Dr. Raj takes the case to the media.
The latest modus operandi for the Pakistan police, especially the Hyderabad police, is to either maim a person for life or kill them. The police officers openly admit extrajudicial killing as feather in their cap to curtail the wave of crime that has engulfed Sindh Province.
According to information I have received, Dr. Deepak Raj is a psychiatrist, who received his post graduation degree in psychology from Sindh University. On April 10, he was on his way to meet a relative. He stopped by at a small teashop to relax and have a cup of tea. A few minutes later, police officers dressed in civilian clothes raided the shop and fired at Dr. Raj. The officers kept calling Dr. Raj Shareef Panhwar. His cry that he is not Shareef fell on deaf ears. He told the police officers that he is not even a Muslim and that his name is Deepak.
Dr. Raj was shot 15 times: 12 bullets to his left leg, two to his right leg, and a single shot to his right arm. The police officers said that he had been half-fried. The pain Dr. Raj experienced was excruciating and he wished they had full fried (killed) him instead.
Bleeding profusely. Dr. Raj was taken to the police station, where the police officers pressurized him to confess that he is Shareef Panhwar. Upon his refusal, the police officers hit his injured leg with rifles butts. They kicked his face and stomach and stomped on his legs. When Dr. Raj continued with his stance, the police officers realized that they had arrested the wrong man. They took him to hospital in a police van. According to Dr. Raj, they deliberately delayed seeking medical assistance, waiting for him to die. At 9 p.m. Dr Raj was taken to the emergency ward of the hospital. The police registered him as Shareef Pahnwar at the hospital. As he had lost much blood, the doctors had to amputate his left leg above the knee.
Today, he is unable to move his right hand; the doctors treating him fear that he may never be able to move his hand. Dr. Raj’s only crime was that he shares some resemblance with Shareef Panhwar, a notorious and hardened criminal.
The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Irfan Baloch has confirmed that it was a case of mistaken identity. But he has insisted that the encounter was genuine. He claims that the police killed two of his aides and injured one, while two others escaped. Sources in the Hyderabad police say that the matter is one in a series of fake encounters, which started in December 2014.
The police had been footing a Rupees 1.5 million medical bill, the hospital room charges, and medicines costing around rupees 25,000 per month. However, now it has been a month since the police have stopped paying Dr. Raj’s medical bills. Dr. Raj has only been able to procure Rs. 28,000 courtesy his friends and well-wishers.
The police officers have threatened him that if he reports the case to the media, they will not pay his bills and will leave him to rot. Dr. Raj is unable to afford the bills and take care of the needs of his wife and two-year-old son. Being the sole bread earner, he has been permanently denied livelihood. The lifelong disability caused to him due to police brutality is irreversible. Who will compensate him?
Though Dr. Raj has filed a petition against the police officers in the High Court, so far the case has not proceeded. The Court has served no notice to the police officers.
The injustice meted to Dr. Deepak Raj in the name of maintenance of law and order is unacceptable, arbitrary, and unlawful by all standards of international treaties, and even by the Pakistan Constitution and local laws. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Pakistan is a signatory, under Article 3 states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” ICCPR and other declarations forbid such a gross human rights violation.
Furthermore, under Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan, it is the responsibility of the State to protect citizens from unlawful killings; the Article states, “No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in accordance with law.” However, all the relevant international instruments and laws are shown to be meaningless in the face of continuing extrajudicial killings.
Therefore, I call upon your good offices to intervene to stop the practice of half fry and full fry by the Sindh police, who conduct fake encounters to try and show falling crime rates and in the process have made more than three dozen persons disabled. Please urge them to provide the best medical treatment to Dr. Deepak Raj, who was disabled by a police officer of Hyderabad, Sindh, who was looking to collect a reward for killing a notorious robber. Please also call upon the government to withdraw the first information report filed against Dr Raj, and call for the prosecution of all police officers involved in this case and to provide the best treatment Dr. Raj’s hand which is seriously damaged.
Yours Sincerely,
……………….
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister of Sindh
The Government of Sindh Province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy@cmsindh.gov.pk
2. Mr. Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal
Minister for Home
Government of Sindh
Barrack 79, Pakistan Secretariat
Near MPA hostel
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9204456
Tel: +92 21 9201920-1
E-mail: secy.home@sindh.gov.pk
3. Mr. Tahir Shahbaz
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9213452
Email: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
4. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk
5. Justice (Rtd) MajidaRazvi
Chairperson, Human Rights Development
Government of Sindh
Barrack number 92 Sindh Secretariat
4. B, opposite to Sindh Assembly Building
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 99207042-43
Fax: +92 21 99207044
E-mail: ministerhrd@sindh.gov.pk
6. Mr. Muhammad Amlish
Inspector General of Police, Balochistan
Police Head Quarters, Qetta, Balochistan
Phone Number: 92-81-9201366
FAX number: 92-81-9201267
blncpo@yahoo.com
7. Mr. Ghulam Haider Jamali
Inspector General of Police, Sindh province
Police Head quarter I.I Chundigar road
Karachi-PAKISTAN
Fax-+92-21-99212051
complaints@pprasindh.gov.pk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
