Busted: Two alleged target killers held

Police claim they were wanted for multiple murders.

RAWALPINDI: The police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested two alleged target killers connected with several murders in Gilgit, Sargodha and Rawalpindi.

The suspects, Naveed Hussain alias Asif and Muntazir Abbas, both residents of Gilgit, have been accused of killing at least five people in various cities, Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Humayun Bashir Tarar, said at a press conference.

The CPO said that the arrests were made by a special team from Civil Lines police, which was specifically constituted to arrest them. He claimed that the suspects had confessed to killing five persons in Gilgit, Sargodha and Rawalpindi.

Tarar revealed that Hussain was sent behind bars for allegedly killing Mufti Imran on Tulsa Road and a case was registered at Civil Lines Police Station on May 21, 2014.

Tarar said that the Gilgit police had set a reward of one million rupees for Hussain’s capture. He further said that Abbas had killed a lawyer, Abdul Wakeel, in Gilgit and was declared a proclaimed offender in a case registered at City Police Station in Gilgit.

During the course of investigation, Tarar said, the suspects revealed that several other religious scholars were on their hit list. Following the incidents of target killing in Rawalpindi, he said, extra measures were taken and directives were issued to SPs to take solid steps to keep tabs on suspicious persons and arrest target killers.

Meanwhile, Tarar said that Potohar Division police had busted five gangs and arrested 28 men in connection with their alleged involvement in robberies and automobile thefts.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2015.