Pakistan ATM Robber Died of Torture by Punjab Police, Says Forensic Report

Lahore: A Pakistani ATM thief, whose antics during a robbery had gone viral on social media, died of physical and mental torture at the hands of Punjab police, a media report on Tuesday quoted the results of a forensic examination.

In the CCTV footage that went viral, Salahuddin Ayubi was seen sticking his tongue out at the camera while robbing an ATM in Faisalabad last month. He was arrested for a robbery in Rahim Yar Khan some two weeks ago.

A day after being arrested, the Rahim Yar Khan police announced that Ayubi suddenly became unwell and died while in their custody.

However, Ayubi's father, Mohammad Afzaal, claimed his son was brutally tortured.

The police 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, Samaa TV reported on Tuesday.

Samples from Ayubi's body were sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) for examination. The PFSA confirmed in its report that Ayubi was subjected to both physical and mental torture, the report said.

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.

A Rahim Yar Khan court recently allowed the exhumation of Ayubi's body on his father's request.

A judicial inquiry into the case formally commenced on September 7.

The Punjab inspector general removed on September 5 the Rahim Yar Khan district police officer. A day earlier, DSP Abbas Akhtar was suspended for "misconduct/inefficiency."

"I bathed his body with my own hands and saw his bruises with my own eyes," Ayubi's father told the channel on September 4.

He described the marks on Salahuddin's body and said, "The skin inside his right arm was burnt, either with electrocution or an iron and there were big wounds on his left arm, which had been stitched up.

The Punjab police once again came under fire for their heavy-handed dealing of arrested suspects after the case surfaced, the report said.