Two suspected car snatchers killed in Dadu 'staged encounter'

Police claim both suspects had prior criminal records; relatives insist otherwise

HYDERABAD: Two suspected outlaws, allegedly involved in carjacking from several cities of Sindh, were shot dead in an apparently staged police encounter in Dadu district on Monday. Dadu SSP Tanveer Tunio told local media that the two suspects, identified as Shahzad Bhayo and Abdul Fateh Augahi, snatched cars from Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Dadu districts.

However, he did not clarify whether the same group was involved in snatching the government vehicles from Karachi including the mayor, Waseem Akhtar's car. "The police bravely engaged with six suspects in an exchange of fire. Two of them sustained gunshots and died while four others escaped taking advantage of the dark," the SSP said.



According to him, Bhayo was nominated in several cases, including of those murder while Augahi, who was a primary school teacher, was also booked in criminal cases. Both of them belonged to the Ghauspur rural town of Kandhkot-Kashmore district. Augahi was posted at Government Primary School Khair Muhammad Manganhar in Ghauspur.

The alleged encounter took place in the limits of Fareedabad police station. The police from CIA and two other police stations besides Fareedabad took part in the raid which was carried out on a tip-off about the presence of the alleged suspects along Shah Godarh link road. Abdul Rehman Dharejo, the SHO of Fareedabad Police Station, said that both the slain suspects were notorious dacoits.

Meanwhile, a relative of Augahi, told local media that the deceased has been killed in a fake encounter. He claimed that Augahi was not booked in any criminal case. According to him, he had left home five days prior to his death with a police constable, Hazaar Khan Augahi, for Karachi and since then his mobile phone had been switched off.

According to police sources, the two were picked up on September 7 from Dadu and shot dead on the night of September 9.