Policeman killed in ‘encounter’ by other policemen

As the killing of a 22 year old man by policemen in Islamabad has been in the limelight across the country, another innocent man was gunned down by police on the outskirt of Peshawar five days ago. Police managed to keep it a secret for four days but when the victim succumbed to his injuries at the hospital and his family and friends finally cried foul, the SHO arrested the head of Sheikhan police post along with three others in order to save his skin.

The deceased Riaz, resident of Bara, Khyber district himself is a policeman who was previously part of levies but became a policeman when levies and khasadar forces were merged into KP police.

A high ranking police officer told the Express Tribune that Riaz along with his driver and with Rs5 lakh case visited a friend in Masho Peky area on the outskirt of the city where he had been invited for a dinner. The incident took place on their way back.

“No one knows what happened but the four policemen involved in the shooting told us that they tried to stop the vehicle at a check post on January 3 around 1:15 o’clock in the night but the men in the car opened fire at them. They just returned the fire and the vehicle escaped,” he said, adding that police chased the vehicle which was found several hundred meters away and Riaz was found lying injured in the vehicle.

“The injured man mysteriously told police in the hospital that he had been shot and injured by unknown people but when he succumbed to his injuries his driver started telling people that he had been shot by police and the incident was made public,” said the official, adding that the local SHO kept a mum over the issue since the victim did not mention police in the FIR.

“When Riaz breathed his last in the hospital the SHO finally realized his mistake and arrested all the four policemen and then told his superiors about the incident,” he informed, saying that four policemen had been arrested and the SHO Ijaz had also been suspended for hiding the firing incident.

“The deceased Riaz probably mistook policemen as robbers since he was traveling with money and fired in the air due to fear but police also responded. Riaz fired in the air instead of firing on police while policemen directly fired at his vehicle,” said the official, adding that an inquiry had been initiated and they were investigating the matter.

Locals claimed that the deceased Riad stopped for checking at the police post but when police saw money with him they started chasing him again and the incident took place then. They blamed that they policemen wanted to rob the man of his cash but left him after discovering him badly injured.