NOT TORTURED. Naqvi claims PTI supporter died in accident
The caretaker government in Punjab of Mohsin Naqvi has refuted the allegation of police involvement in the suspected custodial killing of a young Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporter in a mental health crisis.
The incident occurred in Lahore on Wednesday when a scheduled election rally, which was yet to commence, was violently stopped by the caretaker government. The police used water cannons and fired tear gas to disperse supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan.
More than 40 supporters of Khan, including Ali Bilal, also known as Zill-i-Shah, were arrested for defying a sudden government ban on holding rallies in the city. Hours later, at least two unidentified people driving a Black Toyota Hilux truck sneakily dropped Bilal, 34, at Services Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The opposition party claimed he was viciously assaulted and killed while in police custody. According to his post-mortem examination, conducted by a team from General Hospital, Bilal died due to massive blunt trauma, including a skull fracture and intracranial hemorrhaging.
Subsequently, on Friday, the police announced the arrest of two alleged suspects, who claimed that Bilal died in an accident involving their car, and not as a result of police brutality.
However, Dr. Usman Anwar, the inspector general of Punjab police, in a press conference on Saturday, denied the involvement of the provincial administration in the incident, calling it an “accident case” that was “unfortunately misinterpreted” by members of the public.
The police official cited CCTV footage and said the suspects had tried to save the victim after hitting him. False videos and messages were posted on social media to portray the police and the administration in a bad light, he added. PTI party, whose car he claimed dropped Bilal’s body at the hospital, informed former health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid that Bilal was hit by the car.
Anwar said two people who “brought Bilal to the hospital” had been arrested and the vehicle belonged to Shakeel. He stressed that Bilal was killed due to an accident and that the CCTV footage showed the people who brought him to the hospital trying to revive him.
