Edhi robbery investigation: Suspects identified but no arrests made, says DIG

He also announces arrest of Lyari gang member during police raid

KARACHI:

Police investigators said on Tuesday that some of the suspects involved in the Edhi Foundation robbery have been identified through sketches prepared with the help of eyewitnesses, and efforts are underway to arrest them and their accomplices.

Robbers held famous philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi and other foundation staff hostage during the heist on Sunday, depriving the Edhi Foundation of millions of rupees in cash and gold. An FIR of the incident has been registered against unidentified persons at the Kharadar police station.

District South DIG Khalique Shaikh, who is heading the investigation team for the robbery, told a press conference on Tuesday that no arrest had been made yet. He added that a few suspects had been identified and that details of former and current Edhi centre employees had been collected. Meanwhile, suspects who had earlier been arrested and imprisoned in other cases of robbery were also being questioned to get clues to trace the culprits, he revealed.



According to a police source, a key suspect was among those who had been identified, adding that the man had been involved in earlier robberies, including bank robberies.

The source said that this suspect had been arrested several times in the past but had always been bailed out, after which he resumed his criminal activities each time. He added that the police had raided the man's house, but he was not present there.

DIG Shaikh also informed the media about the arrest of a gang member, Altaf, alias Baba, son of Dawood, during a raid conducted on the basis of a tip-off in Lyari. He said that Altaf belonged to Lyari's notorious Uzair Jan Baloch group, and added that a large cache of weapons and ammunition were seized from his possession. The suspect was shifted to an undisclosed location for further questioning.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2014.