Five cops arrested for allowing suspect to escape from court

KARACHI:

Four policemen and an investigation officer were arrested on Sunday for allowing a suspect to escape from their custody during court appearance on Saturday. A suspected robber named Muhammad Shakir, allegedly involved in several street crimes, escaped from the custody of Malir district investigation police.

The arrested accused was handed over to Malir Cantt Investigation for interrogation. He was being taken to court when he escaped from the police officers' custody on Saturday. As per the police, the absconding accused was arrested by the Aziz Bhatti police in an injured state after an alleged encounter near Baitul Mukarram Masjid on Friday.

The police said that the suspect was involved in a robbery of Rs5 million in Tipu Sultan on November 16. The escaped accused is a habitual criminal as he was also jailed for another street crime that took place in Korangi, said the police. Following the incident, four policemen and the investigation officer were arrested for negligence and departmental action has been started against them.

The police have started a search operation to apprehend the escaped accused.