RAWALPINDI, Dec 30: A report of an investigation team looking into missing of 11 men from Adiala Jail after acquittal in terrorism cases has disputed the claim of intelligence agencies that they were arrested from areas where the army is fighting against militants.
In a report submitted with the trial court, the investigators have accused the staff – then superintendent and deputy superintendent – of Adiala Jail for handing over the men to the personnel of intelligence agencies in the jail courtyard as the men resisted the move, Dawn has learnt.
Senior Civil Judge Rawalpindi Arif Khan has been conducting the trial of Saeedullah Gondal, former superintendent of Adiala Jail, and his deputy Khalid Bashir after they were booked on the orders of Lahore High Court (LHC) for allegedly abducting the acquitted men. The court will take up the case on January 8.
“The jail record of May 28 and 29 was taken into custody by the investigation officer, Sub Inspector Chaudhry Mohammad Altaf and it revealed that former superintendent was present in his office on May 28 when the high court orders reached at the jail for the release of Dr Niaz Ahmed, Mazharul Haq, Shafiqur Rehman, Mohammad Aamir, Abdul Majid, Abdul Basit, Abdul Saboor, Shafique Ahmed, Said Arab, Gul Roze and Tehseenullah,” said the report, prepared under section 179 of criminal procedure code.
“The men were however not released on the same day and Saeedullah Gondal went on leave. In his absence the deputy superintendent was acting as the jail chief and handed over the men to the personnel of intelligence agencies on May 29 at about 11 am,” the report said.
“Khalid, the deputy superintendent, with the help of jail staff handcuffed the men and blindfolded them as they resisted the move of being handing over to the intelligence agencies.The vehicles that carried away the acquitted men also had fake registration numbers,” according to the report, signed by SHO Saddar Barooni police.
The report stated that Saddar Barooni police started probe in June as Rawalpindi’s city police officer formed a joint investigation team that included officers from Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Crime Investigation Department (CID) and Special Branch for tracing the missing men’s whereabouts.
The JIT met twice in August and then in October but failed to obtain any information about the missing men.
According to the report, only after the arrest of the two top jail officials on October 26, Saddar Barooni police started making progress in the case. The report said a daily secret report of Special Branch was handed over to the investigation team, confirming handing over of the men to the intelligence agencies, along with a video recording made by relatives of the detained men, showing vehicles taking them away from the jail courtyard.
On December 9, the ISI and MI through their lawyer told the Supreme Court that the missing men were terrorists, involved in suicide attacks on military installations and offices, and had been arrested from “operational areas”.
The lawyer of the agencies had informed the three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chuadhry that the men would be tried under the Army Act by Field General Court Martial. The petition against the alleged abduction of the men is still pending in the SC.
The former superintendent and deputy superintendent of Adiala Jail had obtained postarrest bail as the police said they would have to arrest other men who helped the two jail officials in handing over the men to intelligence agencies.
The abduction case was registered against the jail officials on the LHC orders on June 24 this year after the relatives of the missing men filed a contempt of court petition.
The 11 men arrested in 2008 had been tried and acquitted in the cases of suicide attacks on the official bus of ISI, on the main gate of General Headquarters, firing anti-aircraft shots on the plane of former President Pervez Musharraf and firing rockets on Aeronautical Complex Kamra, Attock.
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