August 28, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-us-Sani 29, 142

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

NOWSHERA, Aug 27: Angry villagers blocked the GT Road for vehicular traffic after an innocent man was killed during a police raid at Banda Nabi village here on Tuesday-Wednesday night.

The villagers placed the body of Shah Zaman on the main road, blocking it and service roads for all kinds of traffic.

The protesters also clashed with the police and pelted stones at them.

They also took hostage a sub-inspector and a constable for six hours and snatched their official weapons.

In retaliation, the police fired teargas shells and baton charged the protesters to disperse them.

Several people, including police officials, sustained injuries in the clashes. Three injured were taken to Peshawar for treatment.

A brother of the victim demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident and demanded registration of a murder case against the police officials.

Imtiaz Ali, son of Mohammad Zaman, told newsmen that a police party headed by CIA in charge Farman raided the Banda Nabi village to arrest some accused suspected to be the involved in the GT Road hold-ups a few days back.

He said the police laid a siege to the houses of Shahid and Gelam Khan at Mohallah Awal Khan and also entered the house of Mohammad Zaman by scaling the wall.

Imtiaz said that Shah Zaman was sleeping in his room. When the victim heard the noise he woke up and scaled the wall to see what was happening in other two houses. As Shah Zaman scaled the wall, ASI Wasil Khan opened fire, killing him on the spot.

The victim’s brother said that the police took the body with them and they could not know whether he was alive or dead.

ASP Pabbi Awal Khan claimed that the police were not responsible for or involved in the killing.

He said the victim’s parents had lodged an FIR and they had mentioned that when the police entered their house, Shah Zaman tried to climb up the wall and was fired upon from the other side. He asserted that the police firing had not killed the victim.

The Nowshera ASP has suspended ASI Wasil Khan and ordered a departmental inquiry against him.