Inquiry committee formed to probe death of PTI worker during police crackdown

The Punjab police has formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the death of a PTI worker during a crackdown a day ago on those participating in the party’s rally following the imposition of Section 144 in Lahore, it emerged on Thursday.

In a notification dated March 8, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Humayun Bashir Tarar ordered an inquiry into the “incidents of police clashes with [PTI] workers”, especially the death of Ali Bilal, a PTI worker who the party chairman Imran Khan alleged was “murdered by Punjab police”.

As the PTI was about to commence a rally yesterday to express its support for the judiciary, the government imposed Section 144, banning all kinds of gatherings.

Following the ban, police officials had taken scores of PTI workers into custody for violating the ban and used water cannons in an effort to disperse them which had led the PTI chairman to call off the rally.

Alleging that the police were behind Bilal’s death, Imran had shared a video that he said showed the worker alive while being transported to the police station yesterday. He also shared a photo of his body, with a streak of blood on his forehead.

The inquiry team comprises Punjab Elite Police Force Deputy Inspector General Sadiq Ali and Lahore Capital City District Internal Accountability Bureau Senior Superintendent of Police Imran Kishwar.

The IGP has directed the committee to submit a report within three days after gathering statements from witnesses and all possible CCTV footage and video clips of the incident.

The notification listed seven questions that the committee has been tasked with investigating, four of which specifically pertaining to Bilal’s death.

The Punjab IGP asked what were the circumstances that led to Bilal’s death and when and where he died. He further asked if Bilal was in police custody “as reported on social media”.

The committee would also inquire “who took the deceased Bilal Ali (sic) to the hospital and what was the registration number of the vehicle”.

“Did the persons who brought him to the hospital take him to the medical team and disclose their whereabouts and from where was the deceased picked [up]?” the IGP asked.

Regarding the rally itself, the committee would look into its legal status and what led to the “clashes between the police and [PTI] workers”.

It would further ascertain the number of police officers and protestors who got injured during the incident.

DSP files FIR on Bilal’s death

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sabir Ali of Lahore’s Race Course police station filed an FIR late Wednesday night, alleging that a violent crowd of PTI workers attacked police personnel with stones and sticks, which resulted in Bilal’s death.

The FIR, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, had been registered under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise provided for), 291 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), 302 (punishment of qatl-i-amd), 324 (attempt to commit qatl-i-amd), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The complainant said the party workers started throwing pebbles at the police after they asked the gathering to be dispersed due to Section 144 and named 13 police officials who got injured by the attack.

He said when the injured police officials were brought to Services Hospital for treatment, it was found that injured PTI workers had been brought to the same hospital as well.

The DSP said it was later found that one of the workers — later identified as Ali Bilal — had died and that six other PTI workers had been injured as well.

He added that the PTI workers had also caused great damage to three government cars.