Rejecting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claim that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Ali Bilal was killed in police custody, Punjab Interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday said that the youth Died in a car accident.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore along with Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar, Mohsin Naqvi vowed not to succumb to the pressure and dirty propaganda by the PTI leadership.
The PTI had claimed that the Punjab Police killed its activist Ali Bilal, alias Zilla Shah, during a standoff with PTI protesters at Zaman Park on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Punjab Home Department imposed Section 144 in Lahore for seven days in view of serious security threats. The clash took place when the police tried to stop the gathering of PTI workers at the residence of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.
Horrific pictures of PTI worker’s body in Lahore started circulating on social media. Later, more details of Bilal’s death began to emerge, including CCTV footage of a private 4×4 vehicle, which can be seen taking Bilal to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. went.
Timeline of incident
The Punjab government has also released a timeline of the incident, detailing the escape of PTI workers from the police van and the arrival of a private vehicle at Services Hospital.
Giving details about the incident gathered during investigation, CM Naqvi said that Raja Shakeel told PTI leader Yasmin Rashid that the man had been hit by a vehicle.
On this, Yasmin Rashid asked Shakeel, a member of PTI’s Central Punjab wing, to accompany her to Zaman Park and she left the driver in the car and went with the former health minister.
She said that Yasmeen then went to Zaman Park and told Shakeel not to worry.
The Chief Minister said that Yasmin told the whole incident to other party leaders and sent Shakeel back from Zaman Park. “The driver of the vehicle also changed his haliya while shaving his beard,” he added.
He further said that elections are going to be held in the province on April 30 and efforts are being made to disrupt the law and order situation. “They should have held their rally a few days later,” he added.
CM Naqvi said that Section 144 was imposed because of the women’s march.
He added that first all the evidence will be taken to Bilal’s family. “His father was also offered money to stand his ground, however, he knew it was not right,” he added.
Chief Minister Naqvi also said that the Punjab government will provide financial support to the family.
“I am accused of murder, is it so easy to accuse someone of murder?” He said that PTI is requesting to file an FIR of open murder.
“Don’t make false allegations and mislead everyone,” he added.
IG Punjab while addressing the press conference said that all those people who brought Bilal to the hospital in a 4×4 vehicle have been arrested and will be produced in the court.
I was informed that the vehicle in which the deceased worker was brought to the hospital was owned by Raja Shakeel, the IG said.
According to IG Anwar, Shakeel left for Zaman Park with Rashid leaving behind Jahanzeb, the driver of the vehicle, one of the two persons arrested by the police.
He claimed that the video circulating on social media is fake.
“Police, through the hard work of its technical team, have found evidence against PTI’s claims. The conspiracy has been foiled,” the police chief said.
The IG said that action will be taken if abuse is proved by the police.
The IG said that Liaquat Ali, the father of the slain PTI activist, had also appealed for an investigation into the death of his son.
The IG assured that action will be taken if evidence of police violence is found.
Giving details of the vehicle involved in the incident, the provincial police chief said: “A video of a black colored vehicle arriving at Services Hospital has emerged. The vehicle was recovered from Waris Shah Road with the help of 31 CCTV cameras and GPS. has been done
The head of the provincial police department said that the body of the worker was brought to the services hospital at 6:52 am.
He further said that there was no conspiracy to kill the PTI worker. “Punjab Police will share the investigation with [Bilal’s] father. We promise to present all the evidence to Zilla Shah’s father.
He also said that all the evidence will be presented in the court.
Police committee formed to probe death
Apart from this, a request to register a First Information Report (FIR) against Interim Chief Minister Naqvi and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah in the death of Bilal was also submitted in Lahore’s Race Course police station.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Bilal Siddique Kamiana and Sub-Inspector Rehan were mentioned in the petition submitted by Bilal’s father Liaquat Ali.
The police also formed a committee on Thursday to probe Bilal’s death, comprising Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Elite Force Sadiq Ali and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Imran Kishor.
