FAISALABAD: A young man had to face the terrible ordeal of illegal detention by police allegedly at the behest of a ruling party MPA after his father`s car had an `accident` with the vehicle of a girl known to the politico.

The Mansoorabad police implicated Sheraz, an MSc (hons) in animal nutrition, in a theft case and allegedly tortured him during illegal detention.

PML-N MPA Tahir Jameel had a case registered against unknown persons on the allegation of stealing his mobile phone set and wallet.

The very next day police arrested Sheraz who was driving the car when the accident took place.

CPO Afzaal Kausar said a committee headed by Madina Town SP Malik Jameel had been constituted to inquire into the issue.

Submitting an application, the MPA said he was on his way to attend a marriage ceremony when he stopped his vehicle on Canal Road on seeing an accident. `One of the vehicles turned out to be my friend`s and I intervened to pacify the two parties,` he said. He said as he was busy placating the parties, someone stole his mobile phone and the wallet carrying Rs60,000, three cheques, official and identity cards.

Sheraz`s father Dr Haq Nawaz, director of graduate studies at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, told Dawn that police registered a case against his son and tortured him at the behest of the MPA.

He said police first arreste d his younger son Shehryar, who is an electrical engineer, at his TNT Colony residence.

`Police pressured us to produce Sheraz for the release ofShehryar. I, along with some of my neighbours, went to the police station and produced Sheraz with a request to police to release Shehryar.

But they refused to do so and released him after three days,` he claimed. He said police kept Sheraz in illegal detention and a court bailiff had recovered him.

As for the accident, he said a 20-year-old girl who was using mobile phone while driving hit rear of his vehicle on Canal Road on Aug 24. He said the girl got nervous and his wife and daughter calmed her down.

`We asked the girl to call any member of her family to take her home. The girl, however, called the MPA who turned up after a few minutes and sent her to Maryyam Villas. The MPA exchanged a word with me when I insisted on repair of our damaged vehicle, explained Dr Nawaz.

He said his neighbours advised him against handing over Sheraz to police but `being a law-abiding citizen, I ignored their advice.` A civil judge sent Sheraz on judicial remand on the police request for physical remand.

The CPO said justice would be done and the culprits brought to book irrespective of influence.

Meanwhile, the MPA stuck to his guns and said police had completed the inquiry after recording the statements of a shopkeeper at Kutchery Bazaar where Sheraz had gone to sell his (MPA`s) mobile phone. He said police found evidence of Sheraz`s involvement in theft and declared him guilty. He claimed Dr Nawaz`s family was asking him for reconciliation which in itself was a proof that he had done nothing wrong.

The MPA doesn`t enjoy much of a reputation as a few months ago, electricity theft was detected at his steel mill on Samundri Road. He managed transfer of two Fesco senior officers to Sukkur for conducting a raid.