Act of vengeance: Gangsters kill policeman after comrade’s death

Suspected gangster died in police custody.


Our Correspondent September 24, 2013
The police van driver was abducted from the front of the police station by suspected gangsters, who later dumped his body at the same place after shooting him in the head. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: In an unusual incident that took even the top officials by surprise, armed gangsters killed a police official after abducting him to avenge the killing of their comrade, who was allegedly tortured to death in police custody.

The police van driver was abducted from the front of the police station by suspected gangsters, who later dumped his body at the same place after shooting him in the head. The alleged gangster, 25-year-old Naveed Baloch, was arrested along with two other men from Aansu Goth within the limits of Malir City police station on Sunday, for his alleged involvement in target killings, extortion and kidnappings. Later that night, Baloch died under mysterious circumstances in police custody.

As news of his death broke, several protesters attacked the police station with stones and ransacked the furniture. Police officials and personnel were confined to the station until a backup force reached. While the police was firing aerial shots to disperse the crowd, armed men hurled a hand grenade at a police van and kidnapped its driver, Constable Farman. Later, the suspected gangsters dumped the constable’s body outside the police station after shooting him in the head.

“Shame on our officials,” remarked a police official of the Malir City police station. “They [gangsters] abducted him in front of everyone and no one had the courage to stop them. They were all trying to save themselves.”

During the crossfire, eight people, including two police personnel, were also injured. They were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre from where the police took four injured suspects into custody.

Following the incident, an extra contingent of law enforcers, including Rangers and police, was summoned to the site, however, the armed gangsters managed to escape before their arrival. After the passage of at least two hours, Rangers and police launched an operation in the areas to apprehend the suspects. The law enforcers claim to have apprehended around 30 suspects and seized weapons from their possession, including G-3 rifles and sub machineguns.

‘Mini-Lyari’

Parts of Malir, including Aansu Goth, Daud Goth, Murad Goth, Khokhrapar, Memon Goth and the adjoining areas, have become strongholds of the gangsters linked to Lyari with Sohail Dada acting as the chief operational commander, The Express Tribune has learnt. Dada has been implicated in a number of cases of target killings, extortion and kidnapping for ransom.



“These areas have become mini-Lyari, where operatives of the Lyari gang war exercise their dominance,” said a local police officer, on the condition of anonymity. “We took our time to make an effective strategy before entering these areas to conduct an operation because of fear of massive resistance.”

There were reports that Rangers had initially detained Baloch and his companions before handing them over to the police. Police officials, however, denied the reports. “We made these arrests,” said DSP Rao Iqbal. “We did not torture him. He was in our custody when he complained about heartache. We were taking him to the hospital when he passed away.”

Meanwhile, the body of the deceased alleged gangster was taken to JPMC and later shifted to Civil hospital. Later, his postmortem was carried out in the presence of a judicial magistrate. The report was, however, reserved by the doctors.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24th, 2013.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ