Bid to kill police officers foiled

LAHORE:

A plan to assassinate an SSP and a DSP of CIA and three inspectors drawn by a notorious gangster operating from abroad, Lala Shahbaz, to avenge killing of his blue-eyed shooters in police encounters has been foiled, police investigations have revealed.

The suspected shooters had been conducting reconnaissance of the police officers they wanted to target since December last year, said the investigations.

They kept on watching SI Shakeel Butt, who went to the Greater Iqbal Park for morning walk, but could not find an opportunity to strike.

The suspects waited outside a salon in Johar Town to target DSP Ali Butt, who had gone there with his son, but could not carry out their mischievous plan as a policeman had been standing guard for the security of the DSP.

The suspects also waited outside a marriage hall in Shadbagh to assassinate Inspector Majid Bashir and DSP Ali Butt. However, the two officers did not turn up at the event since they had been caught up in some official engagements.

Lala Shahbaz had promised the shooters to get them settled in a country of their choice and also buy them a house after they completed the task, police investigations further revealed.

Iqbal Town CIA DSP Muhammad Ali Butt told The Express Tribune that police had killed a suspected shooter, Umair alias Umairi, a blue-eyed shooter of Lala Shahbaz.

Lala had been annoyed over it. He suspected one Farid Gujjar of spying for police that led to the murder of Umairi. To avenge Umairi’s murder, he had Farid Gujjar killed on Bastami Road, Shadbagh, through one of his gangsters.

He did not stop at that but also made a threatening call to a CIA sub-inspector Shakeel Butt in which he had told the latter that he, too, would have to pay for his role in apprehending one of his gang members. An FIR was registered at the Ichra Police Station against the threatening call.

Lala had also had a businessman killed, his brother in law, in Naseerabad. As police launched the investigations into the cases, they collected some CCTV footages and other IT support. In Naseerabad shooting, two suspects were caught on CCTV footage. They arrested the suspects that led to the arrest of two more suspects: the shooter and a person involved in spying on police officers on behalf of the gangsters.

Butt said that police not only traced a communication of the shooter with Lala Shahbaz, but they also recovered pictures of the targeted police officers sent from an international number.

The suspects who had been arrested by the police were identified as Shan alias Shani, Ahmad Ali, Yousaf Tanveer and Wahab.

The first three are the shooters involved in multiple cases of murder, robberies and other heinous crimes.

Wahab was involved in conducting reconnaissance and spying for the gangsters.

The suspects have confessed to their crimes during police investigations, Butt added. He further said that police also had evidence of transactions of over Rs0.45 by Lala, a payment for murdering the Naseerabad businessman and Farid Gujjar.

Butt said that Lala had lured the suspects into hitting CIA police officers by promising them relocation abroad. Butt said he wanted to give Lala Shahbaz and gangsters like him a clear message: they (the police) were not frightened at all. “When we die we will be wrapped in the national flag. However, they will be found dead like a dog.”

Lala Shahbaz is said to be running from abroad the largest gang of shooters operating in the provincial capital. According to police, the gang had been found involved in multiple murders for money.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2023.