The judicial officers assigned to probe allegations of brutal torture levelled by incarcerated MNA Jamshed Dasti have found “no evidence of maltreatment”.
Reports submitted to the Lahore High Court by judges of the anti-terrorism courts of Dera Ghazi Khan and Sargodha also denied the charges of releasing rats and scorpions in the jail cell of Dasti by police. The reports say Dasti was initially denied ‘B-category’ in the jail and kept in normal cell along with other inmates. However, he was shifted to B-category jail following an order by court on June 30.
The reports further state that 40 people including the lawyer, mother, sister and other relatives met Dasti in prison. Dasti was medically examined by doctors in Dera Ghazi Khan and Sargodha but no marks of torture were found.
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah had taken notice of media reports regarding alleged torture meted out to the MNA from Muzaffargarh in jail. The chief justice had directed the judicial officers to personally visit the jail and observe the condition of the cell/barrack, where the MNA had been kept.
Dasti had alleged that he had been subjected to severe torture in jail and deprived of food. He also accused the officials of often setting rats and scorpions on him in the jail cell and appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the LHC chief justice to take suo motu notice of his sufferings.
MNA Dasti, who heads the Pakistan Awami Raj Party, is being tried for illegally opening a canal gate in his hometown. Police had registered a case against him on the complaint of irrigation department.
SARGODHA: Scores of workers of the Awami Raj Party and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf staged a protest rally in front of the District Jail on Saturday to voice their concern over the detention of Dasti.
Sources say the MNA is involved in 25 cases various police stations have registered against him since 1993.
A delegation of rights activists attempted to meet Dasti in jail but the authorities barred them from doing so. The authorities said 40 people including members of family had been allowed to meet Dasti and assured that all facilities were being provided to the politician in accordance with the jail manual and direction of court.
