Punjab

Policeman killed in encounter ‘booked’

Suspect and his brother-in-law were fleeing after shooting ‘drug dealer’

Muhammad Shahzad August 17, 2022

Racecourse police registered a case and started searching for the fleeing suspects. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE

LAHORE:

Police have registered two cases against a cop and his brother-in-law who were killed in an encounter with Dolphin Squad in Lakshami Chowk area on Monday.

The deceased, also a police constable identified as Kamran Iftikhar alias Shoaib, had a conflict with a person identified as Patras Masih, where he opened fire. Reportedly, Patras received injuries.

Meanwhile, a Dolphin Squad police team was nearby. Alerted by the firing, the unit opened fire on the suspects, leaving Kamran and his brother in-law Ghazanfar Ali with bullet wounds.

Kamran reportedly died on the spot, while the injured was shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Police said Kamran and Ghazanfar had a dispute with a suspected drug dealer at Lakshami Chowk. Kamran shot the dealer and fled the scene. The Dolphin team was passing through the area and after noticing the fleeing suspects, decided to pursue them. However, the suspects fired on the team. When the police returned fire, the suspects, aboard motorbikes, sustained injuries. DIG Operations Lahore constituted a three-member committee, including SP Civil Lines and SP Dolphin Squad, to investigate the matter.

Two FIRs were registered, nominating the deceased Kamran and his brother-in-law as accused; Patras was the complainant in one FIR, while the other was lodged by a sub-inspector at Qila Gujjar Singh Police station.

According to FIR registered by Patras, he worked as a cleaner at a restaurant at Lakshami Chowk. He was standing outside Pak Asia Hotel when Kamran and Ghazanfar approached on a bike. Kamran hurled death threats at Patras and opened fire on him. Patras was hit in the leg and the suspects fled.

According to FIR registered by police, the suspects were fleeing after firing at Patras outside Pak Asia Hotel when a Dolphin Squad team followed them. The suspects opened fire on the Dolphin Team, who retaliated, killing Kamran.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2022.