Contested claims: One killed in brawl between suspects, police

The accused reportedly shot his partner by mistake.

CHARSADDA:

A man was killed during a brawl between the police and suspects in Kango Tarnab, Charsadda on Friday evening.

Tarnab police official Zahid Khan said the incident occurred when Sub-Inspector Anwar Khan was patrolling the area along with other police officials and spotted three suspects at a roadside.

Upon questioning them, the police discovered two of the suspects were in possession of a repeater gun and a pistol, added the official. Nadir Khan, one of the suspects, pointed his repeater at the sub-inspector and threatened to kill him. Upon this, residents of Abu Saeed Khel village rushed to the scene to control the situation. However, it turned ugly when Nadir’s gun accidentally went off and a bullet struck one of his accomplices identified as Ghafar Ali.

Ghafar, who was critically injured, was taken to District Headquarters Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.



Villagers along with the suspects blamed the police for the incident and accused the patrolling team of shooting Ghafar, added the official. An autopsy report, however, concluded the deceased had been shot with a repeater gun, which is not used by law enforcement personnel. Following this, a case was filed against Nadir, who along with his second partner, managed to escape during the brawl once villagers intervened.

An investigation has been launched and the police have raided multiple houses in the area in search of the accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2013.