Karachi police encounter deaths will now be treated as custodial deaths, under a standing office order issued by the city's police surgeon. The order also makes a medico-legal certificate, a formal medical record used in legal proceedings, compulsory for every person killed in such an incident. Separately, a woman and a girl died in Landhi and Gadap City after swallowing a toxic substance, and police are investigating the Landhi death.
What the police surgeon's order says
Dr Samiya Syed, Karachi's police surgeon, has issued a permanent office order on how these cases are handled. Under it, the death of every suspect killed in an alleged police encounter in the city is to be recorded as a custodial death, meaning a death of a person held in police or state custody. Bodies will be examined under the dead-on-arrival protocol, the procedure used for people who are already dead when they reach a hospital.
The order also sets out the steps that follow. Each case must be sent to a magistrate under Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to seek judicial directions. The case must also be sent to the police surgeon so that a post-mortem team can be formed.
What the medico-legal certificate must contain
The dead-on-arrival medico-legal certificate must record the details of the incident. It must also note the stiffness of the body, the extent and nature of post-mortem discolouration, the clothing of the deceased, and the total number of wounds. The order states that the medico-legal officer will not decide the nature of the injuries. The police officer who brings the body to hospital must sign the certificate and provide identity details.
Two deaths from swallowing a toxic substance
In Landhi, police identified the dead woman as 22-year-old Aqsa, wife of Anas. She died at a flat in the Benazir Society area near Landhi railway station after swallowing a toxic substance, and her body was taken to Jinnah Hospital. Police said they are investigating the death.
In Gadap City, rescue officials identified the dead girl as 18-year-old Azra, daughter of Akram. She died at a house near the Baqai toll plaza on the Super Highway, and her body was first taken to Gadap City police station. After legal formalities, it was moved to Jinnah Hospital. When contacted, the station house officer, Mumtaz Marwat, said he was not aware of any such matter, a remark that has not been reconciled with the handling of the body at his station.
What happens next
Police are continuing their inquiry into the Landhi death. The police surgeon's order is a standing directive, so it applies to future encounter cases in Karachi and not only to one incident. The circumstances of the Gadap City death have not yet been explained, and no further steps in that case have been announced.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Karachi mein police muqable mein jo log maare jayen, unki maut ab hirasti maut samjhi jaye gi, aur har case mein medico-legal certificate lazmi hoga. Lash ka muaina aur case ko magistrate tak bhejne ka tareeqa ek mukarrar hukm ke mutabiq hoga. Landhi aur Gadap City mein zehreeli cheez peene se do khawateen ya larkiyon ki maut hui hai, aur Landhi ke case ki police tehqiqat kar rahi hai. Aam shehri ke liye matlab yeh hai ke aisi halat mein record aur qanooni kaarwai ka tareeqa ab wazeh hai.
