Police raid that left two dead was flawed

DSP Raja says no senior official had ordered officers at the scene to fire

RAWALPINDI: The deputy superintendent of police for Cantonment Circle admitted on Monday that a plan by the RA Bazaar police to raid a house in Rawalpindi which ultimately led to the death of two men while the wanted man slipped their grasp, was flawed.

DSP Raja Taifoor Akhtar, who is accused by the family of the two men for being responsible for the killings on February 22, revealed this while addressing a press conference about the arrest of a five-member gang of robbers.

Responding to a question on the status of investigations, the DSP said that an inquiry conducted by a high-level police officer had discovered that a police encounter did take place in Quaid-i-Azam colony.

He added that the inquiry also determined that the strategy employed by the RA Bazaar police in trying to apprehend Abdul Manan, a younger brother of the two deceased men and wanted for stealing motorbikes, was flawed since that led to escape of the targeted man and the deaths of two of his brothers.

DSP Akhtar said that when the encounter took place, he along with his gunman was in Taxila. Additionally, the official added that it had become clear that no senior police officer had ordered officers at the scene to open fire on the two deceased brothers.

The DSP hoped that the judicial inquiry into the would start soon and would bring forth the truth.

Mother wants return of documents

The mother of the brothers has filed an application with the city police officer (CPO) seeking the seized belongings of her sons.

In her application, Balqis Akhtar has asked CPO Israr Ahmed Abbasi for returning of the wallets of her sons Irfan and Wasim since the purses contained their national identity cards, service cards, and banking cards.

She said that she had repeatedly approached officials at the RA Bazaar and Saddar Berooni police for the documents but the officials had denied possessing the documents. The applicant said that her two sons had been killed by RA Bazaar police in a fake encounter in the Quaid-i-Azam colony on February 22. She said that the police had proceeded to book her five other sons for being involved in a police encounter and for spreading terrorism.

Noting that she had nothing to do with the FIR, she sought custody of the documents. Akhtar added that she required the documents for issuance of death certificates and for other legal purposes for the heirs of the two men.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2017.