Man accused of theft killed by police

Raid at victim’s house was based on confessional statement by persons arrested in theft cases

FAISALABAD: An infuriated mob set Makkoana police post on fire on Wednesday after the alleged killing of a young man by a policeman. A relative of the deceased told The Express Tribune that a team of Elite Force conducted a raid at the residence of Maqsood, son of Liaqat and resident of Chak No 229/R-B Makkoana, to arrest him as he was allegedly involved in  a case of gold theft.

Reportedly, the raid conducted at Maqsood’s house was based on a confessional statement given by some accused persons who were arrested earlier in theft cases.

The police team attempted to arrest Maqsood but he reportedly resisted after which an official allegedly hit his head with the butt of his rifle. As a result, Maqsood received serious injuries and died on the spot without getting any medical assistance.

Following the killing of the alleged thief, relatives of the deceased staged a protest and blocked Makkoana bypass by placing the dead body on the road. The protesters chanted slogans against Faisalabad police and forcibly shut down local market shops. The shopkeepers and passengers who confronted the protesters called police who reached the spot an hour later. The delay in arrival of the police made way for a clash between the agitators and shopkeepers. The subordinate police officers called senior police officials for negotiations with the protesters. However, the negotiations failed to reach a solution.

The protesters put forward their demand to register a murder case against the policemen involved in killing Maqsood. After the demand was not fulfilled, demonstrations continued for the next 24 hours. Later on, Khurrianwala police registered a case against eight policemen on the complaint of the deceased’s brother under sections 302,365,148 and 149 of the Pakistan penal code.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the police ignored the woes of the protesters and misreported the death of Maqsood as an accident involving a sudden push by some policemen during the raid.

Khurrianwala Station House Officer Rana Umar Daraz leveled the allegation and claimed that the police reached the on spot on time. “The demonstrators promised to stage a peaceful protest but one protester from the violent group gutted the check post.”

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Syed Ali Raza claimed that he reached the protest spot well in time to tackle the situation which had already gone out of control by the subordinate police. He claimed to have successfully dispersed the mob and confirmed that the Punjab inspector general of police had taken notice of the incident and put Jaranwala Additional Superintendent of Police Hassan Afzal and Khurrianwala DPO Khalid Mahmood under suspension.

The SSP firms to take serious action against miscreants who created the disruption in law and order of the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2019.