A kidnapping and torture case has been registered against railway police officials in Karachi, following a complaint by Saim Imran, director of the City Wardens at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). The case was lodged at the Shahrah-i-Faisal police station on the KMC's complaint. It comes as the civic body and Pakistan Railways (PR) police quarrel over a road being built beside the railway line, a dispute that threatens to halt work weeks before the scheduled finish.
What the complaint alleges
According to the first information report (FIR), Imran was on traffic management duty at the site when the SHO of Cantt police station, Ahsan Rasheed, arrived with other police personnel and assaulted him. Imran says he was then taken to an unknown place, where he was tortured, and that he was ordered to hold senior officers' feet and lick their shoes. He says the abuse continued when he refused, and that he lost consciousness and came to at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. These allegations are unconfirmed.
The Karachi road project and the dispute
The disputed work is a dual carriageway linking Natha Khan Bridge with Pehlwan Goth and Habib University, running alongside Chakor Nullah. Valued at around Rs780 million, the Karachi road project is meant to ease pressure on Sharea Faisal, Rashid Minhas Road, Dalmia Road and Gulistan-i-Jauhar. On Sunday afternoon, railway police intervened at the site and stopped the work, and the chief of the City Wardens came to the spot. The two sides exchanged heated words that turned into a scuffle, and the KMC alleges that railway police beat the director and took him to a PR police station.
The two agencies differ over who controls the land. A PR official said the land belonged to the KCR, the Karachi Circular Railway, and that the dispute arose over construction on railway land. He said railway authorities were collecting information and would decide the next step in line with the law.
The KMC questioned why the railways raised objections so late, when the project was only weeks from completion. Its spokesman rejected the railway claim, saying the municipal body had met all legal requirements before launching the project more than two months ago. The timing is also disputed, since the FIR describes the road as under construction for four months. The spokesman said the project would benefit residents and that any move to put it at risk would harm them.
What happens next
Senior KMC officials are in contact with railway authorities and hope the matter will be settled soon, the spokesman said. Railway authorities have said they will act only after gathering all relevant details. No timeline has been announced for resolving the land question or the case registered against the officials.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Karachi mein Natha Khan ke qareeb ek sadak ke kaam par KMC aur railway police ke darmiyan jhagra hua. KMC ke City Wardens ke director Saim Imran ne railway police ke khilaf aghwa aur tashaddud ka case darj karwaya hai. Railway ka kehna hai ke zameen uski hai, is liye kaam roka gaya. Aam shehri ke liye matlab yeh hai ke sadak ki tameer mein deri ho sakti hai aur traffic ki pareshani jaari reh sakti hai.
