Extrajudicial killing: 3 ‘robbers’ beaten to death

Shopkeepers protest against police for failing to respond to calls for help.

FAISALABAD:

Hundreds of residents of Chak Dhanola on Monday protested against police for failing to respond to calls for help when three men broke into a store. The alleged robbers were beaten to death by a mob. Five people were injured in the incident.

The protesters blocked Dhanola Road for traffic and chanted slogans against police.

Talking to newsmen, Adnan Rasheed, one of the protesters, said three robbers had broken into Mian Kaleem Karyana Store and tried to take away valuables.

He said the shopkeeper had raised alarm and with the help of other shopkeepers, caught them. He said the robbers had shot at people and injured five people - Ghulam Murtaza, Muhammad Iqbal, Muhammad Yaqoob, Zeeshan Ali and Nasir Ali.

He said the shopkeepers had beaten the robbers with sticks. He said the robbers had died soon afterwards.

“We called police several times when the robbers were shooting at shopkeepers and later when they were being beaten,” he said. The protesters demanded action against Millat Town police officials.

The Lyallpur SP visited the scene and pacified the protesters by assuring them that action would be taken against police officials who had failed to respond to the calls. On this assurance, the shopkeepers called off their protest and dispersed.

The Millat Town station house officer told The Express Tribune bodies of the alleged robbers had been taken into custody and sent to the mortuary of Allied Hospital for post mortem examination.

He said the deceased had not been identified. He denied that the police had been slow.

“A police team arrived on the scene within a few minutes of being informed,” he said. “But no one had called police until after the shopkeepers blocked the road.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2015.