Judicial inquiry: ‘Dr Aftab Qureshi was killed by AVCC bullets’

Shocking revelation contradicts statements made by top cops.

HYDERABAD: Dr Aftab Qureshi was hit by bullets fired by personnel of the Anti-Violent Crime Cell of Karachi during the raid to rescue him from his kidnappers, revealed the deputy inspector general of the Crime Branch, Farhat Junejo, while recording his statement before the judicial inquiry on Thursday.

Junejo, who was tasked with the investigation by the IG of the Sindh police, referred to the forensic report. “The gun whose bullets killed Dr Qureshi was alloted to AVCC personnel Asif Nasir,” he told the second additional district and session judge Aijaz Khaskheli. “The forensic report has proven this.”

Besides Dr Qureshi, an AVCC policeman and a suspected kidnapper were also killed in the raid that took place at a bungalow in Abdullah village on May 30. The Karachi police was led by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee chief Ahmed Chinoy and AVCC’s SP Noorul Haq Rind.

The shocking disclosure comes after former Senior Superintendent of Police, Hyderabad, Haseeb Afzal Beg told the inquiry last month that the AVCC and CPLC raid violated jurisdiction. “We received the first call [from the CPLC] at 5:18 am when the operation was already underway,” he told the inquiry. “When the SHO [of Bhitai Nagar police station] reached the place he saw the bodies. The one of the suspect was lying about 500 meters away from the bungalow.”

DIG Junejo informed the court that for his investigation he recorded statements from Chinoy, Rind, Bhitai Nagar SHO Muhammad Ali Shah, the seven arrested suspects and other policemen. However, Junejo termed the killing by AVCC personnel accidental. “There was complete darkness [in the house] and Dr Qureshi was not targeted,” the DIG told the judge.

This statement contradicts the versions of the AVCC and CPLC official who had stated after the raid that the slain suspected kidnapper Akhtar Siyal had killed the doctor. Dr Hadi Bux Jatoi, who led a faction of the Pakistan Medical Association’s Sindh chapter, had claimed on the day when Dr Qureshi was killed, that the hostage was shot by the AVCC.

The judge has so far recorded the statements of AVCC chief Noorul Haq Rind, CPLC’s deputy chief Najeed Danewala, Dr Baldev of Civil hospital, Ghulam Sarwar Noonari who owns the bungalow used in the crime, doctors of LUMHS, SSP Haseeb Afzal Beg, Bhitai Nagar SHO Muhammad Ali Shah and DIG Junejo. The forensic division experts will record their statement at the next hearing on September 10.

Six suspects - Ashok kumar, Imdad Ali Solangi, Azhar Solangi, Farooq Laghari, Aziz Barejo and Hoth Banglani - have been arrested. The suspects Daud Gishkori, Zain Jathyal, Ghulam Ali Khoso and two others are still at large.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2012.