Sonia Naz rape case: SP suspended, DIG transferred
Sajjad Shafiq Butt
LAHORE, September 20 2005: Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Monday September 19 made Faisalabad DIG Chaudhry Sajjad Ahmad an OSD and suspended Faisalabad Investigation SP Abdullah Khalid following two inquiry reports of Sonia Naz rape case recently submitted to the Punjab government.
The chief minister also ordered a case against SP Abdullah besides directing the departments concerned to proceed against the suspended SP under Removal from Service Ordinance (RSO).
Chairing a high-level meeting, the chief minister also ordered a thorough probe into the preparation of bogus documents of snatched/stolen vehicles in Faisalabad by his (Chief Minister’s) inspection team (CMIT).
Chief Secretary Kamran Rasool, Additional Chief Secretary Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, Principal Secretary to CM GM Sikandar, Local Government secretary Najib Ullah Malik and IGP Ziaul Hassan Khan also attended the meeting.
Punjab Constabulary Commandant Khawaja Khalid Farooq would replace Ch Sajjad as Faisalabad DIG and DIG Tallat Mehmood Tariq, awaiting posting since his transfer from the position of IGP Islamabad, will be Punjab Constabulary commandant.
The developments occurred soon after the one-man Judicial Tribunal comprising District and Sessions Judge Faisalabad completed its inquiry report into Sonia Naz rape case and submitted its proposals to the provincial government. The police inquiry committee also had submitted its report to the chief minister.
Sources close to the developments revealed that the one-man tribunal observed that Sonia Naz, despite several summons, never appeared for giving her statement and providing any evidence.
The judicial tribunal, these sources say, hence, found “no substance” in the rape allegations leveled by Sonia Naz against the police officers and, therefore, ‘recommended’ criminal proceedings against Sonia under Qazaf Law (applied when someone levels false allegations of rape and other crimes coming in the ambit of the Hadood Ordinance and if the falsehood is proved the suspect becomes complainant in the same case)
The judicial tribunal in its report also (reportedly) elaborated involvement of husband of Sonia Naz in the preparation of bogus documents for the snatched/stolen vehicles. However, these sources pointed out, the enquiry report recommended “suitable action” against the DIG and SP Investigation because of their involvement in different scams and illegal land-deals worth tens of millions of rupees.
The Home Department sent the tribunal’s report to the Law Department for giving a legal opinion whether or not Qazaf law might be applied against Sonia Naz. The incumbent DIG Faisalabad Khawaja Khalid Farooq has been SSP Faisalabad for around three years from 1986 to 1988. He has also served as SP Bahawalpur, SP Traffic Lahore and SSP Rawalpindi, as DIG Bahawalpur, Traffic Police, Gujranwala, Welfare, Headquarter, and Lahore (as Capital City Police Officer, and Prisons IG.
Source: The News
Date:9/20/2005