Violence in Sadiqabad One killed, two injured in botched robbery
SHO suspended due to rising crime, entire station may be reshuffled.
SHO suspended due to rising crime, entire station may be reshuffled.
RAWALPINDI:
A shopkeeper was shot dead and his two employees were injured after armed robbers opened fire on them at their wholesale grocery shop near Sadiqabad.
Following the incident at around sunset, shopkeepers from Sadiqabad Road blocked the busy artery in protest against the murder.
The protesting traders demanded the immediate removal of the Sadiqabad Police Station House Officer (SHO) Malik Abid and the arrest of the killers. They shouted slogans against the police and their failure to control the increasing crime in the area.
Sohail Ahmed, the deceased, was shot twice in the abdomen and died while being taken to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), according to doctors at BBH.
Waseem, one of the injured employees, informed the police that the three were sitting outside the shop near Sadiqabad Chowk when the two men brandishing pistols came towards them.
“As we stood up, they started firing at us. First they shot at me and the bullet grazed by my right eye. Nabeel [the other injured employee] was shot in the thigh and fell down,” he said.
The injured victim said the attackers then fired two rounds at Sohail, causing wounds that proved to be fatal. The robbers then escaped from the market while firing rounds in the air.
Area MNA Hanif Abbasi, Senior Superintendent of Police SSP (Operations) Israr Abbasi and Rawal Division SP Chaudhry Muhammad Hanif reached the spot and managed to calm the protesters and relatives of the deceased shopkeeper.
The Operations SSP informed the shopkeepers that Sadiqabad SHO Malik Abid had immediately been suspended and all staff working in the police station for more than six months would also be reshuffled.
MNA Hanif Abbasi was critical of the police’s failure to control robbery incidents and urged police high ups to replace the staff at Sadiqabad Police Station.
Rawal Division SP Chaudhry Hanif said it appeared to be an attempted robbery and that shopkeepers had handed over two motorcycles to the police, claiming the robbers left them behind.
When the SP was asked why the robbers didn’t take anything, he said it was too early to reach at any findings, but opined that because of the resistance they faced from the shop staff, they may have started firing before demanding anything from them. “Only a detailed and thorough investigation will lead to solid answers,” SP Hanif added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2013.
A shopkeeper was shot dead and his two employees were injured after armed robbers opened fire on them at their wholesale grocery shop near Sadiqabad.
Following the incident at around sunset, shopkeepers from Sadiqabad Road blocked the busy artery in protest against the murder.
The protesting traders demanded the immediate removal of the Sadiqabad Police Station House Officer (SHO) Malik Abid and the arrest of the killers. They shouted slogans against the police and their failure to control the increasing crime in the area.
Sohail Ahmed, the deceased, was shot twice in the abdomen and died while being taken to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), according to doctors at BBH.
Waseem, one of the injured employees, informed the police that the three were sitting outside the shop near Sadiqabad Chowk when the two men brandishing pistols came towards them.
“As we stood up, they started firing at us. First they shot at me and the bullet grazed by my right eye. Nabeel [the other injured employee] was shot in the thigh and fell down,” he said.
The injured victim said the attackers then fired two rounds at Sohail, causing wounds that proved to be fatal. The robbers then escaped from the market while firing rounds in the air.
Area MNA Hanif Abbasi, Senior Superintendent of Police SSP (Operations) Israr Abbasi and Rawal Division SP Chaudhry Muhammad Hanif reached the spot and managed to calm the protesters and relatives of the deceased shopkeeper.
The Operations SSP informed the shopkeepers that Sadiqabad SHO Malik Abid had immediately been suspended and all staff working in the police station for more than six months would also be reshuffled.
MNA Hanif Abbasi was critical of the police’s failure to control robbery incidents and urged police high ups to replace the staff at Sadiqabad Police Station.
Rawal Division SP Chaudhry Hanif said it appeared to be an attempted robbery and that shopkeepers had handed over two motorcycles to the police, claiming the robbers left them behind.
When the SP was asked why the robbers didn’t take anything, he said it was too early to reach at any findings, but opined that because of the resistance they faced from the shop staff, they may have started firing before demanding anything from them. “Only a detailed and thorough investigation will lead to solid answers,” SP Hanif added.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2013.