Two contract killers arrested in Faisalabad

Accused are allegedly involved in murdering policemen and locals

FAISALABAD: At least two alleged contract killers were apprehended by CIA police, Express News reported on Friday.

A police official said that CIA Lyallpur Town In Charge Siddiq Cheema, Assistant Sub-Inspector Hammad Yusuf and other policemen raided different areas and arrested Zainul Abideen, a resident of Lahore, and Shehzad alias Billa, a resident of Ghulam Muhammadabad.

The police claimed to have seized weapons and a motorcycle from their possession.

During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were contract killers and used to murder people after taking money. They disclosed that they shot dead Police Constable Shahid Mehmood Randhawa on January 5, 2015, after his rivals Saleem and Umar hired them for the purpose. They said that during the incident, Randhawa’s companions Shafiq and Ashraf were also injured.



The accused confessed that they also gunned down a factory owner Khalid Mehmood on March 12, 2014 within the Gulberg police station precincts. The culprits also confirmed their involvement in several other crime cases, including robberies.

The investigators told Express News that both accused had been residing in different areas of Ghulam Muhammadabad, including Adam Chowk and near Dera Saein Graveyard.

They said that the suspects used 9mm pistols for committing the murders and they had killed at least a dozen people, including police officials.

The officials mentioned that they were also interrogating the criminals over the murder of former SHO Atif Mehmood who was gunned down in Faisalabad, and Police Inspector Rana Hafeez.

The police said Zainul Abideen was unmarried, while Shehzad was married and the father of two children.

Meanwhile, the CIA police conducted raids to arrest Saleem and Umar who hired the culprits to carry out target killings.

The police said that the exact number of targeted killings carried out by the accused on the orders of Saleem and Umar will be disclosed after their arrest.

The magistrate has sent the suspects to jail for identity parade proceedings.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2018.