Investigators are trying to determine whether the killing of 19-year-old Intizar Ahmed in Karachi's Defence Housing Authority, allegedly at the hands of police personnel, could have been the result of personal enmity.

On January 14, Intizar was chased down and shot dead allegedly by nine undercover personnel of Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) after he had reportedly failed to stop his car at a picket.

Counter-Terrorism Department DIG Amir Farooqi told Dawn that investigators are probing the element of personal enmity after Ishtiaq Ahmed, the father of the victim, expressed reservations that those “actually involved” in the murder of his son were not being taken to task.

Intizar's father has refused to believe the police version that his son was shot dead by ACLC officials because he failed to stop his car when flagged and insisted that recently-removed senior superintendent of police ACLC Muqaddas Haider was involved in the killing.

In the wake of Intizar's father's allegations, investigators on Wednesday recorded the statement of Haider, and the girl who was accompanying the victim at the time of the incident and has been blamed by his family for causing the teenager's death.

DIG Farooqi, who was assigned the investigation into the murder by the inspector general of Sindh police, told Dawn on Wednesday that they have recorded statements of former ACLC SSP Haider and the girl. They have also recorded the statement of Intizar's father again after fresh allegations from his family.

Haider told the CTD investigators that he did not know Intizar or the girl, and had never met either of them. He was quoted as saying that he held nothing against the duo.

The girl also told the investigators that she did now know Haider, said DIG Farooqi.

In the next phase of the probe, he said, investigators will collect the data of cell phones of both Intizar and the girl and all nine police officers of ACLC involved in the incident to ascertain if there had been any contact or relation between them.

Intizar was a Malaysia-based student who had returned to Pakistan to spend holidays. He was in his car with a female friend when police in plainclothes had reportedly signalled him to stop. When he had failed to oblige, he was chased and gunned down. However, the friend had managed to escape unscathed.