Telenor follow up: Police refuse to register FIR under terrorism act

Franchise owners claim that the attack was not personal.

KARACHI:

Although the authorities suspect that the attack at the Telenor outlet on Friday was an act of terrorism, they have registered the case under sections from the Paksitan Penal Code.

On December 23, at around 10:43 am, two employees at the Telenor franchise located in North Karachi were shot dead. The police claimed that it was a terrorist attack and the suspects were part of a banned outfit. However, FIR no. 573/11 was registered under section 302 for murder, 324 for attempted murder and 436 for arson against two unidentified suspects at the Shara-e-Noor Jahan police station on behalf of Murad Ali Soni, the owner of the franchise. He is also the former central zone chief of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee.

SHO Raja Ulfat told The Express Tribune that the incident could have taken place over personal enmity and the suspects might be paid killers. He added that if they did not find any links to the alleged personal enmity they would have to add the terrorism sections in the FIR. Sources claim that Soni had asked the police to add the terrorism act in the FIR but they refused to do so. Soni’s son Faisal claims that they told the police that they did not have any personal enmities with anyone. He added that they would contact the police again and ask them to impose sections under the terrorism act.

So far the authorities are no certain behind the motives of the attack. Witnesses had informed the police that the suspects had escaped toward Nagan Chowrangi. Sources told The Express Tribune that there was a CCTV camera installed on that route by the city government but was not very useful during the investigation. They added that the investigator were now depending on the CCTV cameras installed at the franchise.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2011.