ISLAMABAD: Family members and relatives of a 25-year-old man, who was shot dead near a police picket, blocked the I. J. Principal Road on Friday, asking for the arrest of the suspects.

The protesters chanted slogans against the police and blocked the highway by putting the body in the middle of the road and setting old tyres on fire.

They also burnt down the picket where the police allegedly opened fire on the man.

A police officer told Dawn on the condition of anonymity that between 4:30am and 4:45am a rashly-driven Toyota Corolla approached the picket set up on a link road between the I.J. Principal Road and Sector I-10 from the Islamabad side.

Around three to five officials deployed at the picket signaled the driver to stop but he ignored and drive through.

Protesters burn down picket where the incident occurred

“It was then that the young man was shot,” the officer said, adding it was yet to be established if the police officials opened fire on the vehicle from the picket or after a brief chase.

The policemen deployed at the picket disappeared shortly after the incident and efforts are underway to arrest them, he added.

The victim was hit by three bullets - two in the back and one in the head.

Station House Officer (SHO) Sabzi Mandi Saleem Shah was suspended for his failure to respond on time and arrest the officials.

Police patrolling teams later reached the picket and found the officials missing.

The police later found the body of the man in a hospital. They said a woman travelling in the car with the deceased had taken him to the hospital in a taxi.

The police handed over the body to the relatives of the deceased after an autopsy at the hospital. The deceased was identified as Taimoor Riaz, a salesman of auto spare-parts.

The protesters took the body to the road and damaged public and private property during the protest. They later dispersed after officials of the police and the capital administration assured them that the suspected policemen would be arrested within 48 hours.

A case was registered against the officials in response to a complaint lodged by the victim’s brother on the charge of murder, the police stated.

Talking to the media, the deceased’s mother, Syeda Bibi, said her son had two children. His brother Sajjad Riaz told Dawn: “We are in the dark as nobody is telling us what actually happened.”

He added: “We have been told that an official of the Eagle Squad fired at Taimoor when he crossed the picket, killing him on the spot.”

According to the standard operating procedure (SOP), police can only fire in retaliation and self-defence, the police officer explained, adding if any person ignored the police signal to stop, they should be chased. In case of unavailability of a vehicle, the police control should be alerted to arrest the escapee.

In some circumstances, the police have the permission to fire but even in that situation they should target the vehicle’s tyres or the person’s leg.

The possibility of an error cannot be ruled out as policeman’s aim may also miss the target and become lethal.”

He said the spot where the incident occurred was considered dangerous and officials deployed there were always directed to be extra cautious and alert, he stated.

It was the third fatal firing incident in the same locality in two years. In 2015, police officials at a picket in the area were attacked by gunmen, resulting in the killing of an official and a passerby woman.

On February 12, 2016, a police constable was killed and a head constable and an official of the Frontier Constabulary were injured in the area.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2017