Family blames police for ‘fake encounter’

One of the two brothers injured in a firing incident involving Dolphin Police in Madanpura succumbed to his injuries, while the other remains in critical condition.

Police have registered a case against the brothers, asserting the recovery of weapons from them to establish them as robbers. However, no criminal records were found for either the deceased or the injured accused.

In response to the accusations, the family members of the deceased Umair have vehemently denied the recovery of any weapons from the brothers, claiming that the police falsely attributed the seizure of two pistols to them.

Meanwhile, the police have taken possession of the DVRs from all the CCTV cameras installed along Madanpura Street 4’s main road, raising concerns of potential evidence tampering as videos were allegedly deleted.

The incident unfolded in the early hours of Tuesday on Street 4 in Madanpura when a Dolphin Force-9 team deemed the two brothers, Umair, and Jawad as suspicious and signaled them to stop. Instead of complying, the brothers accelerated their motorcycle, prompting the Dolphin police to open fire, resulting in their injuries.

Both victims were rushed to Allied Hospital in critical condition. 35-year-old Umair, son of Sarwar, succumbed to his injuries between Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Following the post-mortem examination, the police handed over Umair’s body to his relatives and filed a case against the two accused based on the statement of SHO Ghulam Muhammadabad police station, Asim Rashid.

The police said four individuals, including the two brothers, allegedly opened fire on the Dolphin police, leading to the recovery of 22 shells of a 30-bore pistol, Rs2500 in cash and a motorcycle.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2023.