Violent endings: Third CID officer killed within a month

Former leader of PSF among six more slain in city.

KARACHI:

A Crime Investigation Department (CID) officer and a former leader of the Peoples Student Federation (PSF) were among six people killed on Saturday.

CID sub-inspector Ghufran Amin was shot dead near his house in Pathan Colony. He was the third CID officer to have been killed in a month.

The police said that Amin’s murder was part of an ongoing series of revenge killings of police officers taking action against target killers and extortionists.

Abdullah Baloch, 40, a former leader of, the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) student wing, was shot dead in North Nazimabad. He was sitting at a haleem shop when two men riding a motorcycle targeted him.

His body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where his friends and family protested against his murder. They also took his body away without completing the medico-legal requirements.

According to SHO Sajid Javed, Abdullah Baloch had six children and worked in the property business and was also a PPP activist. Javed suspected that he had been killed because of a property dispute. His funeral was attended by a number of PPP and PSF workers.

A 38-year-old man, identified as Rashid, who was affiliated with the Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (formerly Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan) was shot dead on his way to a mosque in Nazimabad. The body was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

An 11-year-old boy was also killed within his house in the precinct of the Mobina Town police. The child died when he was playing with a security guard’s rifle which accidentally went off.

A teenager’s trussed up body was found from the Garden police precinct. The victim lived in the Bohra Pir area. SHO Malik Athar said that the victim was shot in the head.

A former union nouncil nazim of Gadap Town, Mohammad Jan Afridi, who was injured on Friday at Kunwari Colony in Manghopir, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

Arrests

The East Zone police claimed to have arrested five men allegedly involved in extortion and target killing cases. According to DIG Shahid Hayat, two alleged extortionists Shehzor and Haider Ali were arrested from Malir when they were collecting money. They had reportedly threatened their would-be victim with dire consequences.

The Brigade police claimed to have detained one of the prime suspects in the murder of ASI Safeer Butt, who was killed last September. The suspect Rehan reportedly confessed to killing Butt during interrogation.

The Gulistan-e-Jauhar police arrested Ejaz Ali, identified as a ringleader of street criminal gang. The man was detained while his accomplices were robbing passersby.

The Special Investigation Unit has arrested a man it believes to be involved in various cases of target killing and kidnapping. The suspect, Raees aka Achoo, was arrested after an encounter near Kala Pul.

The Rangers took about two dozen people into custody during a search operation at Aath Chowk in Lyari. Sources said the raid was conducted at the den of Omar Kutchi.

The CID’s Anti-Extremist Cell claims to have arrested three members of a group of arms smugglers in a raid. The suspects were identified as Mohammad Rafiq, Ashraf and Naveed. AEC officials also claim to have found 10 hand grenades, five Kalashnikovs, 10 repeaters, 10 TT pistols, 500 rounds of ammunition, 40 kilogrammes of hashish and a Toyota Corolla from the men.

SSP Chaudhry Aslam said that the men belonged to an ‘interprovincial group of arms smugglers’. He said two of their accomplices had managed to escape. The AEC believes the recovered weapons were meant to be delivered to criminal groups in the city.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2012.