DHA party shoot-out: Families of waiters distance themselves from case

Police say 10 men nominated in case have criminal records.

KARACHI:

The families of the two young waiters, Mark Joseph and Kamran, who lost their lives in the shoot-out at Khayaban-e-Rahat on Sunday, have declined to comment on the case. They appealed to the media to leave them out of it.

The families do not have any interest in any possible blood money compensation and have no concern if the culprits are punished or not. “Even if the government gives us 10 million rupees, we do not want it,” said one of the waiter’s elder brother. “My family is already tired of what people are saying. So, please do not bother us anymore. We’ve had our share.” He said the killing of his brother has already shocked his family and they are trying to forget the tragedy.

One of the waiters lived in Soldier Bazaar with his family. His father was not interested in any government compensation either. “God is great. We do not need anything,” the man said nervously. “It’s a fact that when a breadwinner dies in a poor household, it badly affects the family. But we can manage on our own.”

He did not even want the perpetrators to be arrested and punished. “Has anyone ever received justice in our country? Has anyone ever been concerned about the poor? Here, no one will ever get justice. What had to happen has happened and I don’t want to torture myself by getting into this rut.”

“My son is dead and we are trying to get over the loss,” said the father of one of the waiters. When he was asked about the details of the incident, he replied, “We don’t want to speak to anyone. Please leave us alone.”

Criminal records

Meanwhile, the police have gathered the previous criminal records of the suspects, including those who died that night, those arrested and the absconders in the case. The available record suggests that at least ten of the men have already been nominated in nearly 15 to 20 criminal cases.

Police close to the investigation told The Express Tribune that the suspects nominated in the FIR - Taleh Baloch, Sameer Baloch, Waseem, Mushtaq, Arif Raajar, Faisal ‘Patakha’, Dr Iqbal, Mustafa and Kamran alias Moon - have previous criminal records.

“None of them were innocent. Not even those who died,” said DSP Zameer Abbasi. “These people had ruined the entire environment of Defence.”

The records of ten cases of the suspects have been found. “Those 10 cases were lodged in almost every police station in Clifton Town. There are five to 10 more records that we are searching for.”

According to the officer, these young men used to roam the streets of DHA in groups. “Aerial firing, harassing people, picking fights and beating up people, stealing and making scenes was an everyday story for them,” he said.

Faisal Patakha was imprisoned for at least two years for opening fire and injuring a man during a fight in Clifton in 2009. The DSP said that he has written a letter to the Defence Housing Authority, strictly asking them to not issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) to anyone. He also asked them to cancel NOCs to all sheesha corners and cafes. “Now there will be no dance parties here, and neither will you see any such groups harassing people,” he said.

Investigation officer Rana Iqbal told The Express Tribune that there is no progress in the probe as the prime suspects have absconded. “We have conducted several raids but have not found anyone yet.” Their mobile phones are also switched off and even those in custody are not cooperating, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2011.