Crime round-up: Former Mobina Town SHO arrested on kidnapping charges

A suspect who had escaped from the lockup of Jacobabad's Thull police station was also caught

KARACHI: A police station chief along with four other suspects was arrested in separate raids in different parts of the city on Wednesday.

The investigation wing of the Malir City police arrested a former Mobina Town police station SHO Zafar Abbas and his companion, Manzur Shah, during a raid in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Malir City DSP Qamar Ahmed said the accused men were involved in kidnapping and collecting ransom from a transporter, identified as Abdul Raheem.

SHO Abbas, along with his companions, had abducted the transporter and later released him after getting over Rs6.8 million on December 18 last year, said DSP Ahmed. "Since then, the complainant was shocked and feared registering a case," the officer explained. "The complainant decided to lodge an FIR against him when his family forced him to register a case."

The officer said that an FIR No 24/16 under sections 342, 384, 385, 386 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act was registered against the accused persons on February 8 this year. The police later arrested them while another accused person, Roshan Solangi, who described himself as a DSP in the Sindh police, is absconding. DSP Ahmed further said that Rs1 million have so far been recovered on the information provided by the arrested accused while efforts were being made for the arrest of the remaining suspects involved in the case.

Mobile snatcher caught

Separately, an accused, identified as Shahid Abu Bakar, was arrested after an exchange of fire on main Rashid Minhas Road within the limits of the Federal B Industrial Area police station. Weapon and cell phones were also recovered from his possession. SHO Naeem Khan said that the accused was arrested after an exchange of fire, adding that the accused, during the initial course of interrogation, revealed to have been involved in various cases of snatching of mobile phones on gunpoint.

"He [Bakar] confessed to have snatched a number of mobile phones from citizens after receiving directions from a unit in-charge of a political party," said SHO Khan. "The unit in-charge used to provide him a pistol and asked him to snatch mobile phones."

The officer said that the suspect is a resident of Bandhani Colony of Liaquatabad and the unit in-charge, known as Pappu, also belongs to Liaquatabad and is affiliated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. He said that the police was making efforts to arrest Pappu as well.

Target killers nabbed

In a separate incident, the police also arrested two alleged target killers after an encounter when the police tried to intercept the two suspects riding a motorcycle during routine checking on Rashid Minhas Road. The accused were identified as Ghulam Qadir Baloch and Fida Baloch. Weapons were also recovered from their possession.

SHO Naeem Khan said that the accused persons were wanted to the Malir City police in over half-a-dozen cases of target killings, attempt to murder and police encounters. He added that the police were also trying to ascertain their links with gangster groups. Cases were registered against them while further investigations are underway.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Unit of the Karachi police claim to have arrested a suspect during a raid conducted at Pak Colony. The accused was identified as Shahzado Sattar. SIU chief SP Farooq Awan said that the accused, belonging to the Jacobabad district, was arrested along with weapons and ammunitions, adding that he had escaped from the lockup of Thull police station of Jacobabad. He was wanted in several cases in Jacobabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th,  2016.