Six killed ‘to avenge robbery’

Bodies found near railway station in Shakargarh

SHAKARGARH:

Six men were found shot dead near a railway station in Shakargarh on Thursday.

All the deceased were allegedly members of a gang of robbers and dozens of cases were registered against their ringleader Ashraf Khan.

Police investigators said a victim of a robbery, Osama Younis, had killed the suspected robbers with the help of an accomplice. A case was registered by the area police.

The bodies of six people, including Ashraf Khan alias Mama Changar, who was wanted in dozens of cases of murder and robbery, were found near a railway station in the jurisdiction of Noor Kot police station.

A heavy contingent of police rushed to the spot after receiving information about the incident. The police also found weapons, including Kalashnikovs, at the spot.

The crime scene unit and forensic teams also examined the spot.

The police said they were striving to identify the men found dead along with the wanted gangster.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Malik Khalil told reporters that all the murdered men belonged to a gang of dacoits. They belong to Sheikhupura, Sialkot and Lahore.

He said the men were killed by a man named Osama Younis with the help of an accomplice.

The official said the slain suspects had allegedly robbed Osama’s house on March 30 of Rs5.5 million and 45 tolas of gold. The deceased also kept Osama hostage and tortured his father during the robbery.

A case of robbery was registered against unnamed people in Shah Gharib police station on the complaint of Osama’s father Younis who had returned home from Saudi Arabia.

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Osama reportedly launched efforts to identify the robbers and came to know that they were from a nearby village.

According to the police, Osama had called the suspected robbers at the Noor Kot police station.

The deceased reportedly were friends of Osama and, therefore, he was angry that they had committed the robbery in his house. Osama and Mama Changar had been friends for long.

The police official said the suspected murderer called the robbers, gave them food containing intoxicants and allegedly killed them with the help of an accomplice after they had fainted.

Both the suspected killers escaped from the spot.

However, they reportedly contacted a former police officer before fleeing and informed him about the murder and revenge.

The police registered a case on the complaint of the SHO of Noor Kot police station.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Sardar Ali sought a report on the incident from the Gujranwala regional police officer (RPO). The Narowal district police officer was ordered to form teams to arrest the suspects.

Area police officials said the suspects appeared to have avenged the robbery that took place in the area of Narowal police.

They said the police had cordoned off the area to apprehend the suspected murderers. The officials said the accomplice of Osama had not yet been identified

According to the plaintiff, Inspector Muhammad Arif, only one of the murdered men had been identified till the evening.

He said a forensics team had been called for identification of the five remaining bodies.

Inspector Arif said a person named Javed called the police helpline and informed them about the incident. The caller claimed that Osama had told him the details.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2022.