ISLAMABAD: The killing of two policemen in the rural area of the capital on Tuesday night is being considered an act of terrorism, not a confrontation with criminals, said a police officer.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Mohammad Mohsin Zafar and Head Constable Sajid Ahmed were gunned down at Chungi No 26 at Tarnol. They were among a three-member police team performing duty at a halting point to check suspected vehicles and people.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Operations Waqaruddin Syed told Dawn that after an initial inquiry he was convinced that it was terrorism not a crime as thought initially.

About a massage went viral on social media claiming that a banned outfit was behind the attack, the DIG said: “This is unverified as this is only on social media.”

The officials were from the Tarnol police station and two of them embraced martyrdom, not four as mentioned in the message, he added.

Incident is not related to any confrontation with criminals, says police officer

The circumstances showed that the incident was so sudden that the ASI who was armed with a pistol and the head constable carrying an SMG did not have time to retaliate, he said, adding the pistol of the ASI was found in his holster attached with waist while the head constable was found at a greenbelt. It seems he was shot before he could retaliate.

Two teams have been constituted to probe the incident under the supervision of the DIG. Each team is headed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Investigation Dr Syed Mustafa Tanveer and SP Saddar Sarfaraz Virk.

SP Tanveer’s team will investigate the case on technical grounds and collect evidence. The team will get assistance from Safe City Project and CCTVs installed in nearby buildings and roads.

The team will also conduct geo-fencing of the area to pick up suspects for an investigation.

The team headed by SP Virk will collect evidence from human intelligence and will examine the crime spot, nearby areas and roads leading to it.

Besides, they will also check the nearby and adjacent localities to trace the culprits. People in surrounding areas will also be approached to know if anyone had seen the suspects.

Special Branch has also been asked to mount intelligence in slums to collect details of people who had started living there in the recent past.

“So far, there is no eyewitness to the incident. Some people found the body of the ASI lying on the road and informed the police,” said one officer, adding there were different reports about the number of attackers.

The ASI suffered five bullets and the head constable seven, including two in his head. His body was found lying on a greenbelt. It seems the attackers shot him in the head twice from a close range after he fell on the ground.

“The circumstances suggest that the ASI captured one of the attackers and during a scuffle his accomplice(s) fired at him and the head constable,” said another officer.

As many as 24 rounds (empty shells) of different bores, including 9mm and a 30-bore pistol, were found from the spot.

The initial inquiry also suggested it was terrorism, he added.

Before escaping the spot the attackers made it sure that the two police officials were dead.

The possibility of an enmity and confrontation with criminals cannot be ruled out, the officer said, adding but in an enmity the rivals target the enemy only but in this case both the officials were sprayed with bullets.

Besides, criminals also do not resort to such a massive firing, he added.

There were three police officials at the spot before the attack and the third one remained safe as he had taken a man caught with an illegal weapon to the Tarnol police station.

Police officials suspended

Three police officials were suspended and an explanation was sought from the area SP and the subdivisional police officer (SDPO) over mishandling of the body of one of the policemen.

The action was taken after a video went viral on social media in which some police officials were seen removing the body from the road and putting it into a police mobile in a humiliating manner.

A senior police officer told Dawn that “these police officials disgraced the body of the policeman who sacrificed his life in the line of duty,”

Acting SHO Tarnol Inspector Mohammad Rafique, Duty Officer Abdul Ghafoor and a constable were suspended.

Besides, an explanation was sought acting SP Saddar Omer Khan andSDPO Khalid Awan.

Funeral of martyred officials

The funeral prayer of the martyred police personnel was offered at Police Lines Headquarters.

The body of the head constable was sent to his ancestral town of Haripur while that of the ASI was buried in Islamabad.

IGP Aamir Zulfiqar Khan while speaking on the occasion said families of the martyred policemen would be provided with all departmental relief along with educational and medical facilities to their children.

The police have registered a case against unidentified persons under 7-ATA (Anti-Terrorism Act) in response to a complaint lodged by ASI Abdul Ghafar.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2020