HYDERABAD: The Noori­abad police on Thursday confirmed the handing over of four murder suspects to military authorities after their arrest and subsequent remand obtained from a civil judge.

An FIR (21/17) was registered against the four personnel of a law enforcement agency after an incident of firing in which a police constable, Ashiq Jatoi, had lost his life during the night intervening Monday and Tuesday, the Nooriabad police said.

They identified the suspects as Zardar Awan, Imtiaz Jaskani, Abdul Wahid Janwari and Muneer Almani. Another suspect named in the FIR is a civilian, Shabbir Magsi, who is an activist of the Sindh Taraqqi-pasand Party (STP) based in Jamshoro district, according to the police.

Sharing details of the firing incident with the media, sources in the area police said that four suspects riding a Vigo had opened fire on a car killing one of its occupants, Ashiq Jatoi, instantly. Ashiq, a resident of Dadu district, was sitting on the rear seat of the car which was on its way to the Nooriabad police station. Soon after the incident, a team of the area police rushed to the spot and caught hold of the four suspects. Some weapons, which later appeared to be official, were also seized.

“The four suspects were handed over to the military authorities as they are to be court martialled,” according to Nooriabad DSP Nazar Deeshak.

“They were on Tuesday produced before the Thana Bula Khan civil judge who formally remanded them into custody of military authorities,” he said, adding that the military authorities took their custody from police the same night.

“We cannot keep military personnel in our custody. Therefore, we handed them over to their authorities,” he said.

Reports said that some acquaintance of Shabbir Magsi had arrived from Karachi for some work and he had hosted them at a filling station. One account of the incident suggested that the suspects were interested in a sale-purchase deal involving Rs500,000 and during the course of negotiation the other side deceived them and tried to flee by car. The suspects chased the car but faced poor visibility due to dust while passing through an area where the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) is executing the motorway project.

Fearing that the target might escape, they opened fire. It later transpired that a bullet hit constable Ashiq Jatoi, the driver of the Nooriabad DSP, who was travelling in the car driven by his friend, Aslam Palari.

Jamshoro SSP Tanvir Alam Odho has also sought opinion from district police prosecution branch regarding the case.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2017