Judicial tribunal on custodial deaths sought

HRCP alleges inconsistencies in official accounts about two women's demise The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called for an independent judicial tribunal to investigate the deaths of two women, Amina and Anmol, in custody at the Township police station. In a fact-finding report released on Sunday, the HRCP said it had found serious inconsistencies in the official accounts concerning the circumstances, timing and cause of the deaths. According to the report, the women had been taken into custody on August 4 over allegations of theft and died within hours. Conflicting official accounts have since emerged regarding the sequence of events, ages, time of deaths and whether they were alive when shifted to hospital, it added. Police initially attributed the deaths to cardiac arrest. However, the final post-mortem reports are still awaited, leaving the cause of death unresolved, the HRCP said. The report also pointed to discrepancies between the accounts of the women's families and official record. Family members reportedly said the women had bruises and dried blood on their bodies, while official documents recorded no external injuries. The HRCP also questioned the reliability of the preliminary post-mortem findings, noting that the two reports contained similar medical observations. The fact-finding mission expressed concern over the reported absence of women police officers during the detention, delay in informing their families and what it described as an unusually high degree of police control over the post-mortem, burial and access to the graves. It said police allegations that the women were drug users were not supported by available evidence. The HRCP acknowledged that a judicial inquiry had been initiated under Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. However, it said the inconsistencies warranted a more credible and independent investigation. The rights body urged the Punjab government to establish a judicial tribunal headed by a judge of the Lahore High Court. It said the tribunal should have powers to summon witnesses, compel the production of evidence and publish its findings within a fixed timeframe.