A Karachi additional sessions court on Tuesday sought responses from the South senior superintendent of police (SSP) and Darakhshan station house officer (SHO) on a resident’s plea seeking the registration of a case over an apartment scuffle.
Last week, a video of an argument between residents of two apartments in Defence Housing Authority’s (DHA) Phase 6 surfaced on social media. Three policemen are also facing disciplinary proceedings for their alleged involvement in the incident.
On Monday, the woman who could be seen being hit in the video approached the court, requesting that a first information report (FIR) be filed. It may be mentioned that an FIR had already been registered on August 21 on the complaint of the woman accused of attacking her.
The complainant’s lawyer, Advocate Muhammad Arif, told Dawn on Tuesday that he had approached the sessions court to direct the police to record the statement under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and register an FIR against the other party.
Taking up the case on Tuesday, Sessions Court Judge Abdul Zahoor issued notices to the South SSP and Darakhshan SHO, directing them to submit their replies by Wednesday.
In her plea, the petitioner named the Sindh government, the Darakhshan SHO and sub-inspector Muhammad Imran, the South Investigation Wing SSP, and the woman accused of attacking her as respondents.
The petitioner sought the registration of a case against the alleged attackers, whom she claimed were influential people.
She also alleged that the police were not registering a case despite her request, although an FIR had been filed against her.
“The victims feel severely unsafe after the torture and the case,” the petition said. The petitioner’s lawyer also sought protection for his clients.
Moreover, Advocate Arif said the petitioner had moved a separate plea before the Sindh High Court (SHC), seeking quashing of the FIR registered against her and her brother.
He added that he had informed the SHC that an inquiry into the incident was underway and that they had joined the probe.
The counsel further claimed that the SHC had issued notices to the respondents, directed the relevant authorities not to take any further action against the petitioners and asked them to submit the inquiry report before the court.
CCTV and FIR
In the CCTV footage of the incident, a woman can be seen rushing down a flight of stairs with a dumbbell in her hand and charging at another woman — the petitioner in today’s case — before using it to hit her.
The video also showed two individuals in what appeared to be police uniforms restraining the woman being assaulted, and a man who came up the stairs shortly after and began arguing with the woman with the dumbbell.
At one point, the man and woman being assaulted managed to go inside what appeared to be their home, following which the woman with a dumbbell and another man began banging on their door and yelling obscenities.
At the end, a man in a shalwar kameez can be seen using a weapon, provided by one of the people in uniform, to smash the CCTV camera.
But the incident’s first information report (FIR) offered a different version of events.
It was registered at Darakhshan police station at 1:40am on Aug 21 on the complaint of a woman.
The FIR seen by Dawn invoked Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 337A(i) (punishment of shajjah), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint to commit theft) and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
However, South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Asad Raza said that Section 382 pertaining to the alleged theft of gold ornaments had been removed from the FIR as the incident appeared to be a case of assault.
In the complaint, the woman described herself as a resident of the fourth floor of an apartment building, adding that a man, his sister and their mother — who resided on the third floor — came to their door and started kicking it.
The complainant alleged that the three family members hurled verbal abuses over a parking issue, and upon opening the door, began beating and threatening her.
Subsequently, local police arrived on the spot and took the brother and sister into custody, while their mother fled, the FIR said.
