KARACHI: The Korangi police on Monday claimed to have arrested a former policeman who remained associated with a political party, assisted assassins in their work and also leaked sensitive information to militants about deployment of police commandos leading to the August 2011 Chakra Goth attack that had left four officials dead and many others wounded, a senior officer said.

He added that head constable Ausaaf Baig, who had been dismissed from service over a year ago, was arrested in Zaman Town after a suspected killer recently disclosed to police investigators that Baig was the key member of the entire ‘target-killing chain’.

The policeman used to pass information to armed men taking advantage of his professional position and also assisted the assassins in their tasks, said SSP Korangi Junaid Sheikh.

“Being a policeman he was never questioned for carrying arms so he used to supply arms to his party members for killings,” said SSP Korangi Junaid Sheikh.

“He directly looked after transfer and postings of SHOs and DSP in Korangi with the support of his party leaders in the government. Between 2008 and 2013 he was the man behind these services, too, as the party he was associated with was a key coalition partner in the provincial government.”

But the most ‘serious’ charge the ex-policeman faced was providing assistance to armed men in the August 2011 attack on a bus carrying police commandoes in Korangi’s Chakra Goth, he said.

The SSP said it emerged during investigation of a case that Ausaaf Baig had leaked information about the arrival of police commandoes in Chakra Goth in a bus for an ‘operation’ that led to an attack on the vehicle by armed men of his party.

“Ausaaf Baig in fact passed disinformation to his party members, as the commandoes were not going for any operation but moving in a bus through the area to some other place for regular duty. The attack was one of the worst assaults against the Karachi police in recent history,” said SSP Sheikh.

The Chakra Goth assault

In August 2011, a police party led by DSP Syed Badar Ali Shah was proceeding to Chakra Goth when it was ambushed. As soon as the police party reached Korangi Road, 30 to 40 armed persons opened fire on the police force travelling in a private van, leaving at least three policemen dead and around 30 others wounded. One suspect, Shahid Burger, was killed in the police retaliation.

The arrest of the dismissed policeman, according to the SSP, could lead to further arrests in the Chakra Goth incident which took a ‘decisive turn’ with new findings emerging after questioning some suspects.

“During his service at the Sindh police, Ausaaf Baig was suspended several times under the disciplinary action but he was reinstated every time just a few weeks after his suspension by using his political contacts,” he added.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2015

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