THATTA: The First Additional Sessions Judge, Mohammad Islamul Haq Arain, presiding over the Model Criminal Trial Court of Thatta, has ordered immediate removal of the Gharo SHO and action against his eight subordinates in a habeas corpus case of a 14-year-old boy.
The boy, Mehboob Mallah, was recovered from the lock-up of the Gharo police station in a recent raid conducted by a court official. He was found handcuffed and fettered. The raid commissioner also found that no entry of his detention was made in the roznamcha.
The judge ordered the Thatta SSP to remove SHO Ayaz Bughio and take action against him and his eight subordinates [named by the boy’s family]. He also ordered the SSP and Hyderabad DIG not to reassign him the post of SHO anywhere else in the district.
Furthermore, the judge ordered the errant policemen to pay a fine / compensation of Rs20,000 to the boy’s family.
The court issued the orders on a petition filed by the boy’s mother against his unlawful detention by the Gharo police a few days ago.
The judge observed that SHO Ayaz Bughio had misused his authority and was personally involved in the ‘shameful act’. He also directed the SSP to record the boy’s and his mother’s statements under Section 154 Cr.PC within three days and register a case against all policemen involved in the matter. The court has sought a compliance report within the next four days.
The boy informed the court that a person, Zero Shah, claiming to be ‘Baboo Shah’s manager’, had got him detained at the police station. The boy also alleged that a police officer, Ali Mohammad, had attempted to molest him during his detention. The court remarked that such a conduct was “extremely regrettable and a morally and legally depraved act.”
The affected family was represented in court by lawyer Ali Asghar Dhoolo.
Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2025