PIC riot: ATC sends eight lawyers to jail on judicial remand

The total number of 46 lawyers were presented before ATC over PIC riot case.

LAHORE (Dunya News) – An anti-terrorism court (ATC) Thursday sent eight arrested lawyers - who had yesterday stormed into the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) amid protest that turned violent - to jail on judicial remand for 14 days.

ATC Judge Abdul Qayyum Khan presided over the PIC riot case where scores of arrested lawyers were produced before the court amid tight security measures with their face covered.

The accused were presented in the ATC after two FIRs were registered against them in Shadman police station. Ghulam Murtaza Chaudhry, vice president of Supreme Court Bar, Sughra Gulzar, advocate Nausheen Ambar and Tahir Minhaas represented the accused lawyers. 

The government lawyer requested 15-day physical remand of the accused, while the lawyers’ attorney opposed the physical remand and said that the lawyers are innocent and were arrested by the police.

The defendants’ lawyer claimed that the police tortured the accused and requested for a medical examination. The court sent eight lawyers to jail on judicial remand while rest of the 38 were asked to give up their identity and present before the court again on Dec 17.

Meanwhile, detained lawyers, including advocate Tayyab Rasool, Ali Raza and Umar Ghafoor, filed bail pleas in the court.

On the other hand, a petition against the arrest of lawyers has been set for hearing at the Lahore High Court (LHC). Justice Anwarul Haq will hear the petition on Friday.

Meanwhile, Rangers have also been posted at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in the wake of the attack. Rangers personnel have taken charge of the PIC, and started performing their duties outside the hospital building.

A forensic team was also sent to the PIC for collecting evidence to present in the court.

Rangers deployed to maintain law and order

On Dec 11, Punjab Home Department has approved the deployment of Rangers at key locations of the province to maintain the law and order situation of Lahore.

According to Dunya News, a notification has been issued by the Ministry of Interior to maintain the law and order in Punjab. The notification stated that the Rangers troops have been deployed with immediate effect till request of de-requisition.

They have been deployed at Governor House, G.O.R I and II (both side), Punjab Assembly, GPO Chowk at Mall Road and Punjab’s Civil Secretariat. It further read that troops have also been posted at Aiwan-e-Addal, Supreme Court of Pakistan (Lahore Registry), Lahore High Court, office of PPO/IGP, and Punjab Institute of Cardiology and other companies for backup.

CCPO vows to take action

The Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO), Zulfiqar Hameed, in his talk to the media, said that more arrests were being made and all actions would be taken in accordance with the Law.

“All possible footages [of the clash] have been obtained,” he said, adding that police were unaware of lawyers’ protest yesterday and when it rushed at the spot, policemen pushed the lawyers twice out of the hospital.

He stated that police have deployed contingents of security personnel at important locations. “We are ready to cope with every situation […] yesterday some lawyers turned the protest into political form,” he said.

Responding to a question that whether an action would be taken against the Prime Minister’s nephew who was also involved in the protest, the CCPO said an action would be taken against all those who were responsible for the violent clash.

Teams formed for fresh arrests

Importantly, special teams have been tasked to arrest other lawyers involved in the incident, and in the first phase, all lawyers who have been nominated in the cases will be arrested.

In the second phase, CCTV footages will be examined to identify the remaining lawyers.

New CCTV footage

Dunya News on Thursday obtained another CCTV footage in which it could be seen that the lawyers tortured hospital staff, patients and their relatives who had come to visit them.

The footage showed that the lawyers forcibly entered into the hospital in a group form and threw everything they could find.

They broke windows, expensive equipment of the hospital, particularly in the emergency ward, using batons and sticks.

Yesterday, the protesters were apparently on a mission to avenge a group of lawyers, who had been beaten up at the PIC a few weeks ago, soon after some video clips went viral on the social media showing some doctors making fun of the lawyers while recalling the incident.

The protesters claimed that the legal fraternity was provoked by several video clips doing the rounds on social media. They showed some doctors making fun of the lawyers after some hospital staff had thrashed a group of lawyers over a dispute at the PIC.

In a video that went viral on social media on Tuesday, a doctor is seen narrating an encounter with some lawyers in front of a group.