Two teenage girls entered a Lahore police station conscious and left it dead less than three hours later. The families of Amina and Anmol have demanded answers, and now a judicial magistrate has been tasked with finding them. The inquiry, launched under Section 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, will examine every minute of the girls' detention—from arrest to the frantic call for an ambulance—to determine what really happened on August 4. Main Developments At around 2:54pm on August 4, an emergency call reached police helpline 15. The complainant, Zeshan Latif, alleged that two girls had entered his house and fraudulently stolen gold jewellery and cash belonging to his wife. Sub-Inspector Ghulam Ghous of the Township police arrived at the scene at 3:11pm and brought the girls to the police station. They were handed over to the duty clerk, Tasnim Arif, at 3:26pm. Latif submitted an application that was e-tagged at 4:40pm, and an FIR was registered at 4:50pm. Read also: Lahore wildlife raid nets suspect in rare turtle trafficking The police station recorded a report at 5:20pm regarding the transfer of the girls' custody from the operations wing to the investigation staff. The operations wing's muharrar claimed he handed the girls to investigation wing muharrar Bilal in accordance with prescribed procedure. The situation turned dire at 6:03pm when Rescue 1122 received an emergency call from the police station about the deteriorating condition of both girls. A team reached the station at 6:14pm and found one girl "almost dead" and the other unconscious. Both were shifted to Jinnah Hospital, where doctors pronounced one dead; the other died shortly after. Background The judicial inquiry was launched after the families of the victims demanded an impartial investigation. Section 176 of the CrPC empowers a magistrate to inquire into the cause of death when a person dies in police custody or under suspicious circumstances, and allows for exhumation, recording statements, and examining witnesses on oath. Video footage that emerged after the incident shows the girls in a relatively stable condition when they arrived at the station. One recording shows a police official questioning them; another, from the duty clerk's room, shows Amina and Anmol sitting on chairs, conscious and interacting with the clerk before leaving the room. Police say the details of their interrogation are not covered by station cameras. Immediately after the incident, investigation police claimed drug overdose was the likely cause of death, but this has yet to be conclusively established through postmortem reports. The reports were still pending when officials spoke to Dawn. The incident also triggered a row between the operations and investigation wings, with officers from both sides shifting responsibility for the girls' custody onto each other. The time between 3:11pm, when the girls were taken into custody, and 6:03pm, when Rescue 1122 was called, is considered crucial. Why It Matters This case raises serious questions about custodial safety and police accountability in Pakistan. If the girls died from drug overdose, why were they not given medical attention earlier? If they were tortured, the authorities must be held responsible. The judicial inquiry's findings could set a precedent for how similar cases are handled. Investigation SSP Mohammad Naveed has strongly rejected allegations of torture, claiming the girls were chronic drug users who had consumed a strong addictive substance before being brought to the station. He says they fainted due to the drugs' impact and later died of the same cause. He maintains that surveillance footage shows the girls were not maltreated. The SSP also defended the decision not to refer the case to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), saying that agency is usually involved in cases of custodial torture or police encounters. "This case is different, as it concerns the deaths of two suspects in custody, and there was no need for an FIA investigation," he insisted. What's Next The judicial inquiry is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the girls' detention, the transfer of their custody between wings, available CCTV footage, statements of police officials and witnesses, and the postmortem reports' findings. The findings will determine whether there is evidence of criminal negligence or misconduct. The postmortem reports, once finalized, will be crucial in establishing the cause of death. The inquiry will also need to clarify why the girls' condition deteriorated so rapidly and whether any delay in medical attention contributed to their deaths. The families await answers, and the public will be watching closely.