Karachi railway police face kidnapping case amid KMC road dispute
A city wardens director alleges railway police abducted and tortured him after a confrontation at a Karachi road project. The agencies also dispute whether the construction is authorised.
Karachi police registered a kidnapping and torture case against railway police officials after a confrontation on Sunday, October 18, at a disputed city road project, Dawn reported. The complaint by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) City Wardens Director Saim Imran adds a criminal case to a dispute over land and permission for the construction.
The case was registered at Shahrah-i-Faisal police station, according to Dawn. Imran alleges that railway police abducted and tortured him; the allegations have not been established as findings against the officials.
What Saim Imran alleges happened at the road site
In the account of the complaint reported by Dawn, Imran said he was managing traffic at the construction site when Cantt police station SHO Ahsan Rasheed arrived with other personnel and assaulted him. Imran alleged that he was then taken to an undisclosed location and tortured, and that he later regained consciousness at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
The confrontation arose around a dual carriageway linking Natha Khan Bridge with Pehlwan Goth and Habib University, parallel to Chakor Nullah. Dawn put the project's value at about Rs780 million and reported that it is intended to ease pressure on busy Karachi roads. The confrontation threatens construction as the project approaches its scheduled completion.
Why Pakistan Railways and KMC dispute the construction
Pakistan Railways says the road encroaches on Karachi Circular Railway land and that the work was unauthorised, Dawn reported. A KMC spokesman rejected the railway land claim and said the municipal authority had met the legal requirements before starting construction. Ownership and permission for the road remain disputed.
A railway official told Dawn that railway authorities were gathering information and would decide what action to take under the law after reviewing the details. Dawn had reported the confrontation and the competing land claims before reporting that the criminal case had been registered.
The road forms part of a wider KMC effort to improve connections around Natha Khan Road. In an earlier report on the project, The News International described routes intended to improve access between Sharea Faisal and Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Those planned connections show why the contested construction matters to travel across this part of Karachi.
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Sources and context
- Kidnapping, torture case registered against railway police officials amid dispute with KMC over road projectDawn
- Land dispute between railways and KMC over road construction erupts into street fightingDawn
- Road project to connect Jauhar with Sharea Faisal in final stage: WahabThe News International
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.