KARACHI: Shooting toll rises to six as one more dies
By Arman Sabir
KARACHI, June 17: Yet another victim of Thursday’s firing incident died here on Saturday, bringing the death toll to six. Mohammad Azeem, an employee of the water board and a resident of Orangi Town, succumbed to his injuries at the Civil Hospital.
He was a passerby and was caught in the firing that left deputy superintendent jail Amanullah Khan Niazi dead.
He was gunned down along with his three associates as unidentified assailants intercepted their vehicles on a busy Saddar thoroughfare in broad daylight on Thursday.
Another seven persons had sustained gun shot wounds in the incident. One of them, Habibullah Niazi, younger brother of the jail official, died at Civil Hospital on the following day.
Amanullah Niazi was in his Corolla car while his guards were in a Suzuki van deputed as escort. Both the vehicles came under heavy fire a few yards from the traffic signal as the two vehicles slowed down due to a pothole on the road.
The attackers sprayed the cars with bullets. Most of the victims received head and neck injuries in the firing. The attackers left the scene leaving behind one of their motorcycles.
The bike was taken into custody but it transpired later that the vehicle had been snatched from its owner a few days back in Nazimabad.
Police are still groping in the dark as they have found not clue yet to the killers. Investigators visited the Central Prison Karachi and interrogated some jail officials.
Sources said that Shoaib Khan, an underworld don, and Hasan Gichki, a member of an influential Baloch tribe, died recently during their detention at the jail. The investigators are looking at this aspect to ascertain a motive for the killing.
“We are investigating the case from different angles but at this stage, it is too early to pin point the culprits,” DIG Investigation Zone-1 Manzoor Mughal said.
Official news agency APP quoted Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui as saying: “The heirs of ASI Habibullah will be given Rs300,000, besides posthumous promotion.” On the contrary, a top level police officer, on condition of anonymity, said: “Habibullah was not in government job… he was a civilian.”
Meanwhile, the home minister has issued strict directives for the arrest of those involved in the killing of the deputy superintendent jail, three other policemen and a civilian in the ‘target shooting’ on Thursday, APP adds.
Mr Siddiqui said that arrest of assassins should be ensured by all means. He made it clear that those involved, no matter how much influential, would not be pardoned.
He pointed out that a six-member team, headed by DIG Manzoor Mughal, had already been formed to arrest the killers and bring them to justice.
SSP ACLC Farooq Awan, SSP Investigation Zone II Niaz Ahmed Khoso, DSP/TIO Investigation Saddar-I Anwar Soomro, DSP/TIO Investigation Saddar-II Gul Hameed Sammo and SIO Preedy Inspector Sohail Ahmed are other members of the team.
The minister said that the additional IG Special Branch; DIG CID and DIG Investigation-II would assist the team and collect necessary information to trace out the culprits.
He announced that the families of the deceased police officials had been allowed to continue living in the official quarters for five years whereas a brother or son of every policeman died in the attack would be provided a government job if he was above 18 years of age.
The minister said he was in constant touch with the investigation team and keeping himself abreast with the investigation.
