‘Serial killer’ brought to book

Suspect confesses to four murders and a robbery

MULTAN:

Police successfully apprehended suspected serial killer Muhammad Luqman alias Katta, wanted for four murders, during a special operation.

According to details provided by SP Cantt Qazi Ali Raza during a press conference at his office on Saturday, a disturbing series of incidents occurred on the night of August 1st. In the first incident near the Kidney Center, an unidentified suspect on a motorcycle confronted Police Constable Muhammad Arshad at 2:40am. When Constable Arshad did not stop, he was shot dead with a pistol.

An hour later on the same fateful night, milkman Muhammad Shafiq was shot and killed near Kalro Bridge. The attacker fled the scene after stealing Rs11,500 in cash and other belongings from the victim.

Upon receiving information about both incidents, senior officers and area police reached the crime scenes. Cases were filed against the murder of Constable Muhammad Arshad, upon the complaint of his brother Zafar Hussain and the murder of Muhammad Shafiq, through his brother Falak Sher.

CPO Multan, Mansoor-ul-Haq Rana, took immediate notice and issued orders to apprehend the culprit. A specialized team was constituted under the supervision of SSP Operations Multan, Muhammad Imran.

Under the guidance of SP Cantt Division Capt. (R) Qazi Ali Raza, police utilized modern technology and available resources to track down the accused, identified as Muhammad Luqman alias Katta, who hails from Chowk Kaiyanpur in Multan. Police successfully traced and apprehended the killer and recovered the murder weapon, a TT pistol, as well as other evidence of the crimes.

During the course of the interrogation, the accused confessed to killing four individuals in five different robbery incidents spanning across the jurisdictions of Shah Shams police station, Mumtazabad police station and Chelek police station.

In addition to the two incidents in the Shah Shams area, the accused confessed to his involvement in the murder of Sajjad Munir in the Justice Hameed Colony area on August 2nd, which was registered as case number 1370/23 at Chelek police station. He also confessed to the murder of Muhammad Gibran in the Ghala Mandi area on August 18th, with a case registered at Mumtazabad police station.

CPO Multan praised the police force's significant achievement in capturing the serial killer. SP Cantt Division Captain (retd) Qazi Ali Raza expressed that the accused had turned into a dangerous serial killer and had instilled fear in the city.

With additional input from APP

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2023.