En route: Three killed, two injured in explosion

In a separate incident, police allegedly killed a villager during a raid.

PESHAWAR:

Three people were killed and two injured when a bomb exploded in a vehicle in Garhi Khan Sher area on Tuesday evening. The Badhaber police said the explosive device had been planted inside a three-wheeler and was probably being transported when it accidentally exploded. 

The injured were stated to be in a critical condition and were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital, said a police official. Initially, the police claimed the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder blast but bomb disposal squad officials inspected the site and found remains of explosives.

Police allegedly kill villager during raid

Hundreds of protesters burnt down two police check posts in Regi village after a resident was allegedly killed in a police raid on Tuesday morning.

Villagers told The Express Tribune that a team from the counter terrorism department (CTD) raided a house they believed was serving as a sanctuary for kidnappers. They claimed that Daad Gul, a gardener at the University of Agriculture, began objecting to the intrusion and was shot as a result. They said his family members were tied up to prevent them from reacting against the killing.

As news of the incident spread, hundreds of infuriated villagers assembled at the scene and later marched to the two police posts near the area and set them on fire.

They also tried to reach the Regi police station but police officials dispersed them after firing shots into the air.

Skirmishes between the police and villagers continued till noon after which village elders brokered a deal with the police and agreed to register a case against the alleged killers.

A police official said the raid was conducted to arrest brothers of the late infamous kidnapper Mailo. He said that Gul started creating a scene during the operation and was shot as a result, adding the villagers took the law into their own hands afterwards which should not have been the case.

Gul’s relative, however, claimed police commandoes entered his house early in the morning, dragged him out and shot him in cold blood. He said Gul informed them he was a government employee but it did not make a difference.

The police said an FIR had been registered against CTD DSP Shah Nawaz on the orders of IGP Nasir Khan Durrani.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2014.