Chakra Goth case: ‘Death Squad’ target killer caught

Sikander was caught on September 22 and was involved in the Chakra Goth case.

KARACHI: The police have arrested a notorious member of the so-called ‘Death Squad’ of a major political party, who was allegedly involved in the Chakra Goth police bus attack case.

Mohammad Nadeem, who was nabbed on Thursday evening, is accused of not only being involved in the clash between two groups in Chakra Goth, but also the indiscriminate firing on a bus carrying policemen that had left three Sindh Reserve Police personnel dead and 27 others injured on August 19.

Malir City SHO Ali Hasan Sheikh confirmed that the arrest was made from within Malir, but declined to say whether any weapons were seized from the suspect. “The investigations are in the initial stages, though one can expect major breakthroughs in the case with this arrest,” he said.

On September 22, the Crime Investigation Department had nabbed a suspect Sikander alias Ali, who also belonged to a major political party and was involved in the Chakra goth case.

There have been quite a few highs and lows in the Chakra Goth case already. Earlier, the police suffered a setback when a judge released two main suspects Omair Atif and Abdul Hakeem on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence against them.

After the two suspects were released, a police inquiry had found five officers, including the SHO of the Zaman Town police station, Inspector Shakir Ali, complainant Sub-Inspector Muhammad Hanif Abbasi and investigation officer Suhail Ahmed responsible for damaging the case. Recommendations were also made that they should be prosecuted under the anti-terrorism law for their criminal negligence.

However, the police managed to secure the remand of other two suspects in the case, the notorious hitmen Kamran Madhuri and Sohail Commando, who also belong to a major political party.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th,  2011.