Hamza Ahmed’s murder: Security company manager caught
Police believe guard is in his hometown in K-P.
File photo of Hamza Ahmed.
KARACHI:
The manager of the security company, whose guard shot 16-year-old Hamza Ahmed in DHA on April 27, was caught on Wednesday along with the second driver of the 16-year-old suspect, Shoaib Ahmed.
Shoaib’s family hired a guard, Amal Khan, from Kardesler security company a few months ago due to some threats they received. On the day of the incident, Hamza and Shoaib met at a cafe on Khayaban-e-Seher to resolve some argument. As the fight went out of hand, Shoaib’s guard allegedly shot Hamza four times and escaped.
Shoaib was arrested a few hours later and his driver, Mushtaq, who was accompanying Shoaib on that day, was caught a day later. Since then, the guard has been on the run but the police made some headway on Wednesday when they arrested the manager of the company, Abid, who has been in touch with Amal seven times since April 27, The Express Tribune learnt.
“We have not faced any pressure from Shoaib’s family or the army,” said an investigating officer, dispelling rumours that the guard escaped because the security company’s retired army officials were supporting him. “Is the guard more important than the manager?” he asked.
The police have also arrested Shoaib’s second driver, Idrees, who may have helped the guard escape. Another police official told The Express Tribune that both, the manager and the driver, were involved in helping the guard escape from the city. They were aware of the incident yet they helped him, he said. Why did these arrests take place after so long? “We have not been sitting idle since the day of the incident, nor is Amal Khan waiting for us to arrest him in a drawing room,” the official said. “We were collecting technical evidence - by tracing phone calls - and finally we saw that the manager and the driver were involved.”
According to Khan’s cellphone records, he was in touch with his manager and talked to him at least seven times since the incident. “If the manager knew that Khan was a murder suspect, why did he stay in touch and not inform the police?” he wondered. The driver also knew that Khan had allegedly shot and yet he drove him to someplace where he could escape the city, he pointed out. Both the arrested men’s names will be added to the FIR.
Where is the guard?
The police believe the guard reached his hometown Karak in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but they have yet to arrest him since he has not reached any of his designated addresses. “We have around four to five addresses of where he has contacts, but he hasn’t reached any of them.”
The investigations have been nearly completed as the witnesses have recorded their statements and all of them said the guard shot Hamza. An official said they are just waiting to arrest the guard and obtain the forensic report of the weapon used.
“Actually, Hamza slapped Shoaib and that is when the guard stepped up. Then Hamza challenged the guard to shoot him,” said an officer. “We don’t know what went through the guard’s mind, but he opened fire.” The police are relying on witnesses’ statements and on technical reports. The officer said that if someone else has any other perception, they should step up.
Kardesler not registered with association
The All Pakistan Security Agencies Association (Apsaa) chairperson Col (retd) Tauqeerul Islam told The Express Tribune that Kardesler Security Company (Pvt) Limited is not registered with them.
According to the code of conduct of the Sindh home department, all security companies must be registered with Apsaa. “We have 231 companies registered but Kardesler is not one of them,” he said. “This means the company is illegal.” He further said that the code of conduct makes it mandatory for all security guards to be in uniform but the personnel with this company do not wear uniforms.
Meanwhile, the Kardesler representatives could not be reached for comments as the numbers listed on their official website were not available or were not responding. Even the number of its Karachi-based official, Major (retd) Khurshid, was received by an unknown person who claimed he is not affiliated with any security company. Interestingly, Major Khurshid answered the same number the day of the shooting.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2013.
The manager of the security company, whose guard shot 16-year-old Hamza Ahmed in DHA on April 27, was caught on Wednesday along with the second driver of the 16-year-old suspect, Shoaib Ahmed.
Shoaib’s family hired a guard, Amal Khan, from Kardesler security company a few months ago due to some threats they received. On the day of the incident, Hamza and Shoaib met at a cafe on Khayaban-e-Seher to resolve some argument. As the fight went out of hand, Shoaib’s guard allegedly shot Hamza four times and escaped.
Shoaib was arrested a few hours later and his driver, Mushtaq, who was accompanying Shoaib on that day, was caught a day later. Since then, the guard has been on the run but the police made some headway on Wednesday when they arrested the manager of the company, Abid, who has been in touch with Amal seven times since April 27, The Express Tribune learnt.
“We have not faced any pressure from Shoaib’s family or the army,” said an investigating officer, dispelling rumours that the guard escaped because the security company’s retired army officials were supporting him. “Is the guard more important than the manager?” he asked.
The police have also arrested Shoaib’s second driver, Idrees, who may have helped the guard escape. Another police official told The Express Tribune that both, the manager and the driver, were involved in helping the guard escape from the city. They were aware of the incident yet they helped him, he said. Why did these arrests take place after so long? “We have not been sitting idle since the day of the incident, nor is Amal Khan waiting for us to arrest him in a drawing room,” the official said. “We were collecting technical evidence - by tracing phone calls - and finally we saw that the manager and the driver were involved.”
According to Khan’s cellphone records, he was in touch with his manager and talked to him at least seven times since the incident. “If the manager knew that Khan was a murder suspect, why did he stay in touch and not inform the police?” he wondered. The driver also knew that Khan had allegedly shot and yet he drove him to someplace where he could escape the city, he pointed out. Both the arrested men’s names will be added to the FIR.
Where is the guard?
The police believe the guard reached his hometown Karak in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa but they have yet to arrest him since he has not reached any of his designated addresses. “We have around four to five addresses of where he has contacts, but he hasn’t reached any of them.”
The investigations have been nearly completed as the witnesses have recorded their statements and all of them said the guard shot Hamza. An official said they are just waiting to arrest the guard and obtain the forensic report of the weapon used.
“Actually, Hamza slapped Shoaib and that is when the guard stepped up. Then Hamza challenged the guard to shoot him,” said an officer. “We don’t know what went through the guard’s mind, but he opened fire.” The police are relying on witnesses’ statements and on technical reports. The officer said that if someone else has any other perception, they should step up.
Kardesler not registered with association
The All Pakistan Security Agencies Association (Apsaa) chairperson Col (retd) Tauqeerul Islam told The Express Tribune that Kardesler Security Company (Pvt) Limited is not registered with them.
According to the code of conduct of the Sindh home department, all security companies must be registered with Apsaa. “We have 231 companies registered but Kardesler is not one of them,” he said. “This means the company is illegal.” He further said that the code of conduct makes it mandatory for all security guards to be in uniform but the personnel with this company do not wear uniforms.
Meanwhile, the Kardesler representatives could not be reached for comments as the numbers listed on their official website were not available or were not responding. Even the number of its Karachi-based official, Major (retd) Khurshid, was received by an unknown person who claimed he is not affiliated with any security company. Interestingly, Major Khurshid answered the same number the day of the shooting.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2013.