August 20, 2007	Monday	Sha’aban 6, 1428

GUJRANWALA, Aug 19: The families of two police constables who were killed in an encounter with criminals in Sodara Town on Jan 15, 2006 are still seeking justice as police have allegedly failed to arrest the culprits.

According to a report, constables Muhammad Arshad and Syed Shabbir Husain of Sodara Police Station were patrolling the area on Jan 15, 2006 when they had an encounter with the criminals. Arshad was killed at the scene and Husain was injured. He died at Mayo hospital in June this year.

Sodara police officials could not arrest the culprits. When senior officials pressured them to arrest the culprits, they arrested Muhammad Shahzad and Qaiser Mahmood, who had no connection with the constables’ murder, and sent charge sheets against them to an anti-terrorism court. The prosecution failed to bring evidence against them and the court acquitted them on November 27, 2006.

A few weeks ago, police arrested another innocent man, Ahsan, in connection with the constables’ killing. An enquiry found him innocent and later a court bailed him out.

Sodara Station House Officer Ehsan Zafar said that two accused acquitted by the anti-terrorism court were not history sheeters and added that he had no information about the third accused.