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| February 22, 2002 | Friday | Zilhaj 9, 1422 |
Councillor shot dead by police
SIALKOT, Feb 21: A councillor was shot dead and his wife injured reportedly by the Muradpur police in Miyani Pathanaan Di village in the jurisdiction of the Head Marala police here early on Thursday morning.
According to an FIR lodged by Ghazanfar Khan, the elder brother of the councillor, Muradpur SHO inspector Zafar Iqbal, two sub-inspectors Basharat and Muhammad Iqbal, ASI Muhammad Sagheer, head-constable Naseer and 10 constables — Abdul Munan, Dilawar Husain, Muhammad Khaliq, Abdul Hafeez, Sanaullah, Ayub, Saleem, Akram, Khalid Husain and Manzoor Ahmad — entered the house of councillor Jaffar Khan by scaling the boundary wall at 3am and opened fire with their officials arms. Some of the bullets fired by SI Basharat hit the councillor, killing him on the spot, while the bullets fired by inspector Zafar Iqbal hit his wife, Shazia, injuring her seriously.
The policemen also resorted to aerial firing for half an hour and fled firing shots in the air.
Injured Shazia, 30, was admitted to hospital in critical condition.
Following the incident, villagers staged a protest demonstration against the Muradpur police and demanded early arrest of the policemen involved in the killing.
Sialkot SSP Muhammad Tahir also reached the spot and directed the Head Marala police to register a case against the accused policemen. A case was registered against the policemen under sections 302, 460, 324, 148, 149 and 7-ATA. Later, the SI Basharat was arrested and sent behind the bars.
Basharat told the Head Marala police that they had received an information that a dacoit, Jaffar Khan, involved in Wednesday’s dacoity of Rs2 million was present in his house in Miyani Pathanaan Di village. They conducted a raid and killed the councillor considering him a dacoit.
On Wednesday, two armed men had looted Rs2 million in cash from a trader, Irfan, of Kasur on Railway Road, Sialkot city. The trader was also injured seriously on resistance. His condition was stated to be critical in the Allama Iqbal Memorial DHQ Hospital.
Meanwhile, the Gujranwala range DIG has sought a report in this regard within 24 hours from the Sialkot police chief.
The Sialkot SSP told this corres