‘Out of rage’: Four brothers held for killing a police constable

Court orders seven-day physical remand for two brothers while the other two are sent to a five-day remand.

ISLAMABAD:

The four brothers accused of killing a police constable were arrested on Saturday. The court has ordered a seven-day physical remand for two brothers, Asrar and Asim, while the remaining two, Daud and Haroon, have been sent to a five-day physical remand.

Police claim that Constable Gulzar Ahmed (belt number 6653) was shot in the head by Muhammad Asim in Mehr Jaffar neighbourhood of Golra Sharif. Police said they have recovered the murder weapon and are investigating the actual motive behind the killing.

Golra police received a complaint against the four brothers for beating a group of people. Constable Ahmed was sent to investigate the matter on March 1. However, when he tried to bring them in for questioning, one of the brothers, Asim, shot him out of rage, police claimed. The four brothers fled from the scene and subsequently from their residence.

After the police found their whereabouts and started conducting raids, the family was reluctant to hand them over to police out of fear that they might “fall victim to police violence”.

The police held talks with the family and elders of the area and the suspects were finally handed over to the police on Saturday against guarantees of their safety in police custody. Police said the suspects were produced before the court, which gave Asrar and Asim in police custody on physical remand till March 11, while Daud and Haroon were remanded till March 9.

The 35-year-old constable, Ahmed, belonged to Sargodha district and was transferred to Golra police station from Secretariat police station only ten days before his death. The police authorities have decided to provide monetary compensation to his family, while his brother has been offered a job in Ahmed’s place.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6^th, 2011.