HYDERABAD: Lawyers held a protest in Hyderabad to demand the registration of a case against officials of the excise & narcotics department over the alleged assault and illegal detention of an advocate.
Members of the legal fraternity, including lawyers from the Sindh High Court Circuit Court Hyderabad and the Hyderabad District Bar Association, held a demonstration and expressed solidarity with Advocate Dhani Bux Solangi, who claimed that he was subjected to violence and unlawful confinement by excise officials.
According to the complainant, the incident occurred on the morning of March 15, when a group of officials, allegedly led by Excise & Narcotics Director Muhammad Ali Baloch, along with Aurangzeb Shah, Aqeel Arbab and 30 to 40 personnel, forcibly entered his residence in Gulshan-e-Mehran Phase-I.
Solangi claimed that the officials attempted to search his house without legal justification. When he resisted, the officials reportedly assaulted him, threatened him with severe harm and forced him into an official vehicle. He claimed that he was taken around different parts of the city before being shifted to a building behind the Shahbaz Building, where he was detained and threatened.
He also claimed that he was forced to sign several blank papers before being released on the condition that he would not initiate legal proceedings. He said his wallet, containing his national identity card, cash and other documents, was taken during the detention.
Following protests by lawyers demanding legal action, police registered a case at the Qasimabad police station against the nominated officials. However, no arrests have been made. Lawyers warned that if the nominated officials are not arrested and a transparent inquiry not conducted, they would expand their protest movement.
Members of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the incident and called for an impartial investigation into the allegations. The excise & narcotics department had earlier claimed to have raided the same locality, arresting two suspects and seizing liquor, raw materials and equipment allegedly used in a fake liquor manufacturing facility.
