KARACHI: A sessions court on Saturday issued contempt notices to a senior police officer and others respondents for not lodging an FIR against police officials who allegedly tortured a law student.

The court directed the alleged contemnors to appear in person on May 6 along with a report for not complying with its order passed on Friday.

Petitioner Abid Hussain, through his counsel Haseeb Jamali and Muzammil Qureshi, had filed an application seeking contempt proceedings against SSP South, SHO and additional SHO Defence police station for flouting the court order.

On May 2, Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Abdul Hafeez Lashari had directed the SHO Defence to lodge the case after recording the statement of applicant word for word under Section 154 of CrPC.

Earlier, the petitioner had filed an application seeking registration of a case against the proposed accused SHO Defence Israr Buriro, ASI Zahid Iqbal, constables Zahid Jamshed, Zahid Gujjar and Rana Aleem for allegedly causing serious injuries to his cousin Shahbaz Ali Khaskheli in police custody.

The applicant had also submitted that the victim, a student of law, had gone missing on April 23 and his roommates said that police had picked them up along with Khaskhheli from a tea shop near Defence police station and subjected them to torture and shot at them after labelling them `Sindhi Robbers` and later released at an unknown location. He also argued that the victim was critically wounded and under treatment at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

The police in its reply submitted that some roommates of the victim were arrested under Section 54 of CrPC for being found suspicious and later, 80-90 law students came at the police station and resorted to rioting and attacking the police.

It was also maintained in the comments that the police used baton charge in self-defence in order to save the government property of police station and, thereafter, a case was lodged against them.

The court noted that as per theapplicant, the victim was found at the JMPC with critical wounds, head trauma, gunshot wounds and bruises from iron rods and medical record also reflected the same, but the police refused to lodge a case.

It also said that the lodging of an FIR was a fundamental right of every victim so that the state may come in his/her aid, but in the instant case the report of police about lodging FIR was a pre-emptive case filed by the Defence police alleging rioting, damaging and assaulting officers.

However, the court further observed that victim`s name was absent from the FIR, a glaring omission given his hospitalisation and petitioner`s detailed allegations and such fact revealed that police were trying to hide some-thing behind the FIR while police`s counter-narrative was also doubtful.

`The case underscores systemic issues of police impunity and the misuse of authority. The absence of Shahbaz`s name in the FIR, despite his life-threatening injuries, and lack of a credible explanation against the allegations leveled by the petitioner against police, point to a deliberate cover-up`, it added.

The court also said that the gravity of allegations demanded an independent investigation to unravel the truth, ensure accountability and restore public confidence in law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, the Karachi Bar Association (KBA) has strongly condemned such actions on thepart of the police and demanded immediate registration of an FIR.

It also said that the victim was a son of its member, Asghar Khaskheli advocate.

The KBA general secretary Rehman Korai told Dawn that following the court order, the applicant along with various lawyers had approached the Defence police station on May 2, but they againrefused tolodge acase.

Thereafter, the lawyers staged a sit-in at the main Korangi Road near the police station concerned on Friday night and later dispersed on the assurance ofsenior police officers, he added.

Mr Korai also said that the KBA had barred the police officers from entering the premises of City Courts on Saturday for not complying with the court order.