Suspect shot dead outside police station

Security lapses alleged as assailants escape scene; CCTV footage sought

RAWALPINDI:

A suspect under investigation in a target killing case was shot dead outside Dhamial Police Station on Wednesday, while the assailants, reportedly riding a motorcycle, managed to escape.

Police sources said that the deceased had been identified as Abdul Wahab, who had been under investigation in connection with a murder case registered a week earlier in Bahar Colony and was allegedly in police custody at the time of the incident.

Unidentified gunmen, as the police claimed, opened indiscriminate fire near the entrance of the police station, killing him on the spot.

Sources further said that the attackers remained positioned across the road while continuing to fire, whereas police personnel assigned to the suspect's security reportedly fled to save their lives.

It has further been claimed that officers present at the scene made no attempt to apprehend the assailants, and that an armed guard stationed outside the police station did not return fire.

Police sources indicated that the deceased was also involved in a longstanding family feud, which is being examined from multiple angles as part of the ongoing investigation.

Following the incident, law enforcement authorities obtained footage from nearby CCTV cameras to assist in identifying and apprehending those responsible.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Rawalpindi Police confirmed that City Police Officer Syed Khalid Mahmood Hamdani had taken notice of the incident and directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) and the Superintendent of Police (Saddar) to reach the scene immediately and ensure the swift arrest of the perpetrators.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the killing, which occurred on Gulshan Iqbal Road, may have been motivated by an old enmity. Police confirmed that the deceased had been nominated in a murder case registered at Dhamial Police Station the previous week.

The body has been shifted to the hospital for a post-mortem examination, while evidence is being collected from the crime scene.