Salahuddin murder case: Forensic report confirms death due to police torture

PFSA confirmed in its report that the deceased had been subjected to both physical and mental tortur

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Forensic report of Salahuddin, an ATM robber whose video had gone viral on social media last month, confirmed that he died of physical torture at the hands of the Rahim Yar Khan police.

A day after being arrested, the police announced that he had died in their custody. However, Salahuddin’s father, Mohammad Afzaal, claimed his son was brutally tortured.

The law enforcers did not initially make his post-mortem report public. However, the report described marks on the deceased’s right hand, right leg and near his right eye upon its release later.

Samples from Salahuddin’s body had been sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for an examination. The PFSA confirmed in its report that the deceased had been subjected to both physical and mental torture.

On the basis of the PFSA report, a medical board, led by Sheikh Zayed Hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Ghulam Rabbani, said that it was of “unanimous opinion” that the torture marks on Salahuddin’s body were “ante-mortem (occurring before death) in nature & caused by Blunt Means — confirming ante-mortem physical violence”.

“Possibility of death due to combined effects of ante-mortem injuries mentioned in postmortem report, inhalation abuse, restrictive lungs disease & neurogenic shock cannot be ruled out,” it said.

Earlier, a Rahim Yar Khan court allowed exhumation of Salahuddin’s body.

Salahuddin’s father had filed for exhumation of his son’s body for a second post-mortem examination, maintaining that the bruises on his son’s body were not identified in the autopsy report.

A provincial medical board would conduct the second post-mortem after the exhumation of Salahuddin’s body.

SHO and investigation officer were suspended after the incident came on media and case was registered against them.