Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, Justice Aalia Neelum, on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over what she described as the police’s “highly non-serious” approach to a six-year-old kidnapping case in which the family claimed the missing woman had been taken by a jinn.
Her remarks came during a hearing concerning the recovery of Fauzia Bibi, who disappeared six years ago under circumstances that have long baffled investigators, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Thursday.
DIG Investigation Zeeshan Raza appeared before the court but failed to satisfy the Chief Justice with his answers, prompting her to take the case record into her own custody.
The hearing was held on a petition filed by Hamidan Bibi, with DIG Zeeshan Riaz, DIG Legal Malik Owais Ahmed and several other police officials present.
During the proceedings, Justice Aalia Neelam reprimanded the DIG for being unable to answer her questions, saying she would decide the matter after reviewing the police file and would not hesitate to take strict action if required.
She also questioned the petitioner’s lawyer about why the parents had never registered their children with NADRA, noting that proper documentation would have made it easier to trace the missing woman.
When the lawyer said the in-laws believed that jinns had taken Fauzia, the Chief Justice sharply dismissed the claim, saying that people do not simply vanish without trace.
DIG Raza submitted a report outlining the steps police had taken, but the court also discussed DSP CCD Model Town Hasnain Haider and his gunman Ikram, whose roles in the investigation were unclear.
Justice Aalia Neelam questioned which officers Ikram had served with, why Fauzia’s photograph had been released on social media, and what action had been taken against the officer responsible. On this, the DIG assured the court that departmental proceedings would be initiated.
The Chief Justice further asked whether the case file had remained with DSP Haider, to which the DIG replied that it had also been in the possession of police officer Usman Haider.
Expressing frustration, Justice Neelam said the DIG’s statements contradicted the written record and stressed that the abducted woman’s photograph should only have been accessible to the investigation officer.
She also noted that Punjab Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar had already appeared twice and sought more time to recover the missing woman, pointedly asking whether the police had kept her hidden from themselves.
The Chief Justice ordered the submission of the diary held by DSP Haider, along with all documents from the past six months, and demanded to know when the woman’s photograph first surfaced in the investigation and on social media platforms.
Accusing the DIG of mocking women instead of conducting a serious inquiry into a sensitive matter, Justice Neelam also questioned how a constable had gained access to confidential records and when a fabricated TikTok account related to the case had been created.
In response, the DIG said that before September, the case had been with the CCD, and that security agencies had been asked to verify Fauzia’s accounts.
The case of the kidnapping of Fauzia Bibi was registered in the Kahna police station in 2019, and the husband and mother-in-law of the abductee were named in the case.
Reporter: Malik Ashraf