Murder most foul: Suspect killed, SI injured in attack on police van

Relatives of the dead man stage a protest demo against the killing.

RAWALPINDI:

A suspected proclaimed offender was killed and a police officer injured on Wednesday in unexplained circumstances in Chauntra, a suburb of the capital.

Relatives of the dead man staged a protest demo against the killing and manhandled police personnel at District Headquarters Hospital, where his body had been brought.

A police spokesperson said a team led by Sub-Inspector Izhar Shah raided a house in Mujahidabad village in Chauntra to arrest three proclaimed offenders (POs) who were allegedly involved in at least 10 cases including murders and kidnapping for ransom. However, two of them --- Raja Rameez and Ghulam Haider --- escaped, while Adeel Haider was handed over to police by his own family.

According to the police, after arresting Adeel, when they reached Al-Haram City near Kolian village, they were attacked by six armed men, and Adeel was killed on the spot. SI Shah was shot thrice but is in stable condition.

The dead man’s family accused the police of being “hand-in-glove with the assailants”.

“We feared such an incident would happen so we handed Adeel over to the police,” said Ihsanullah, a cousin of the dead man. He said the killers came in a car, stopped the police van and shot dead his cousin.

The police did not resist, he claimed. They threatened to move a court of law if the killers were not arrested.

“He [Adeel] had enmities with several families and was among the most wanted people,” Senior Superintendent of Police Mian Maqbool told The Express Tribune.

He said raids were being conducted to arrest Adeel’s accomplices.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6^th, 2014.