Controversial killing: Young man shot dead in ‘fake’ shootout with police

Family of the slain young man claims their loved one was killed when he went near Teen Talwar to use an ATM

KARACHI:

The Gizri police have been accused of killing a young student in an allegedly fake shootout late on Friday night.

The family of the slain young man, Zakariya Muhammad, claimed their loved one was killed when he went near Teen Talwar to use an ATM.

On the other hand, the police insisted that Muhammad, along with his companion Ghulam Azad, robbed a group of people while travelling on a motorcycle in the Defence Housing Authority. Azad, who was wounded in the incident, has confessed to the crime, the police said.



The police informed that after the robbery victims lodged a complaint, they took prompt action and managed to chase down the suspects - killing and injuring the two in the subsequent shootout.

Family claims innocence

The victim’s family also staged a protest demanding the government and police high-ups to punish the policemen involved in the fake encounter.  The family insisted that Zakariya had never been involved in any criminal activity. “He was not a criminal but the police tried to associate him with the ‘Lyari Gang War’ only because he was a resident of Lyari,” the victim’s grandmother told journalists at the site of the protest.

Zakariya, a resident of Shah Baig Lane of Lyari, was studying in Malaysia and had recently returned to Karachi to attend a family wedding and to prepare for his own wedding next year, said his father, Yahya Janjua.

Home minister Sohail Anwar Siyal, taking notice of the incident, asked Additional IG Karachi to conduct an inquiry over the family’s allegations. “Justice will be delivered…the policemen will be punished if anyone is found guilty,” he said.

Police stick to their guns

Interestingly, police officials insist Zakariya was not killed in a wrongful encounter. “We have a complainant,” said District South DIG Dr Jameel Ahmed. “The police retaliated when they [Zakariya and Azad] opened fire at them,” he explained.

Initial investigation suggests Zakariya and his friend were trying to rob some people near Khayaban-e-Jami when the encounter took place. “Usually in Karachi, victims of street crimes do not chase down the culprits but fortunately this time it happened,” explained DIG Ahmed. “The victims started chasing them and also informed the police while doing so,” he added.

The victims of the alleged crime are also said to be students and have recorded their statements with the police. “We [four friends] were sitting outside a house and were busy chatting when they [robbers] came and escaped after looting our mobile phones and wallets,” said complainant Ahsan, in his statement to the police and the media. “While we were chasing them, we saw the police and informed them and then the police started chasing them too.”

The police claimed to have seized two pistols, a motorcycle and mobile phones and wallets from the suspected robbers. The police have registered four cases - two of recovering illegal weapons and one each of a police encounter and robbery. DIG South said, however, that the police have also recovered other mobile phones which they believe might have been snatched from other victims. He added that further investigation was under way while the police were also looking for other complainants and combing CCTV footage to strengthen their case.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2016.