Murder cases in Lahore up 20% in a year

Use of hired shooters emerges as alarming trend

LAHORE:

The number of murder cases reported in the provincial capital during the past 11 months is 20 per cent higher than the figure for the corresponding period of last year.

According to the police’s statistics, 416 people have been killed in the city so far this year due to various reasons. They include four people, including two women, murdered recently.

The total number of people murdered in the city in 2019 was 376.

SSP Investigation Abdul Ghaffar Qaisarani told The Express Tribune that the investigation wing had so far charged the accused in about 60% of the over 400 murder cases registered during the current year, while the percentage during last year was 48%.

The officials said 235 murder cases had been taken to the courts during the current year, while 178 cases were under investigation.

A shocking revelation made during the investigations is the involvement of hired “shooters” is as many as 10% of the cases.

The SSP said the shooters arrested in the past had confessed during interrogation to having killed individuals for only Rs25,000 to Rs.100,000. The suspects also revealed that some of them had received Rs10,000 to Rs20,000 for shooting the opponents of the clients in the legs to intimidate them.

The investigators observed that the arrests in such cased were delayed because those hiring the shooters usually took refuge abroad and the murderers travelled to other provinces after the attacks.

SSP Qaisarani said about 50% of the murders reported in the city this year were related to property disputes, including 20% murders of relatives to become sole heirs. He said 15% of murders were linked with financial and business matters.

About 20% of the arrested murderers revealed that the had been embroiled in enmities caused by altercations over minor issues several years ago.

Another 20% of the murders were honour killings, with women comprising 80% of the victims. Most of accused in honour killing cases were fathers, brothers or husbands, of the victims and over 80% of them were arrested.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, SSP Operations Malik Jamil Zafar said the police often faced lack of cooperation in cases of property disputes. If someone feels threatened by a relative, he tries to settle the matter within the family.

The official said the police had launched a crackdown against youth who brandished weapons in public. A monitoring cell has been set up and about 80% of the people displaying arms on social media have been arrested and the weapons have been seized.

DIG Operations Ashfaq Khan said the Dolphin and PRU squads had been told to keep an eye on those who came on the roads with weapons, particularly those accompanying the individuals appearing in courts.

He said that after the recent murder of two persons in a lockup, the DSP and guards had been replaced, while stronger security arrangements had been made in consultation with judges and lawyers.

Law expert Syed Farhad Ali Shah complained that the police often submitted incomplete challans in murder cases without gathering evidence comprehensively, especially from the spot and electronic sources. He said many people involved in attacks remained untraced despite the presence of 8,000 cameras of the Safe Cities Authority.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2020.