Judicial probe launched into death of 2 girls in Lahore police custody

LAHORE: A judicial inquiry has been launched into the deaths of two underage girls who died in police custody on August 4, according to a judicial magistrate. The families of the victims, Amina and Anmol, demanded an impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the girls' deaths after they were arrested and held in police custody for over two hours.

Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) allows a magistrate to investigate the cause of death in cases where a person dies in police custody or under suspicious circumstances. The magistrate can also order an exhumation of the body for a postmortem examination and record statements from witnesses. Police officers familiar with the case say that around 2:54 pm on August 4, an emergency call was received by the police helpline, which stated that two girls entered the complainant's house and fraudulently stole gold jewelry and cash belonging to his wife.

A sub-inspector (SI) arrived at the scene at 3:11 pm and brought the girls to the police station, where they were handed over to the duty clerk at 3:26 pm. The police registered the FIR at 4:50 pm. The investigation into the incident is crucial as it spans from the girls' arrest to their deaths, which occurred shortly after they were found unconscious at 6:03 pm.

The police claim that drug overdose was the likely cause of the girls' death, but this has not been conclusively proven through the postmortem reports. The investigation SSP, Mohammad Naveed, has rejected allegations of custodial torture, stating that the girls were chronic drug users who had consumed a strong addictive substance before being brought to the police station.

The judicial inquiry is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the girls' detention, the transfer of custody between the operations and investigation wings, the CCTV footage, statements from police officials and witnesses, and the findings of the postmortem reports.