KARACHI: Police have registered a murder case against four policemen for allegedly killing a citizen during an encounter with robbers on main Sharea Faisal last month, a senior police officer said on Sunday.

Gulshan SP Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto told Dawn that the Sharea Faisal police had registered a First Information Reporter (FIR) against a police-post in-charge and three other policemen under Sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code over killing of Mohammed Maqsood.

The officer said that the case had been registered through an order of the court concerned as the family of the deceased had approached the judiciary.

SP says that so far the nominated policemen have not been arrested

The SP said that so far the nominated policemen had not been arrested.

The case has been transferred to investigation branch of the police for further legal action.

Maqsood was allegedly gunned down during a police encounter with robbers on main Sharea Faisal on January 26.

At that time, the police had claimed that they had indicated three suspects wearing police uniforms travelling in the car to stop. A police party had been deployed there as incidents of looting passengers particularly of international flights had increased. However, the suspects sped up the car.

The police resorted to firing and burst tyres of the vehicle which the suspects abandoned.

Later on, the suspects tried to snatch a rickshaw and opened fire on it, resulting in killing of Maqsood.

In the meantime, the police party arrived there and arrested two suspects in wounded condition after exchange of gunfire.

Karachi-East SSP Dr Samiullah Soomro had told Dawn at that time incidents of street crimes on Sharea Faisal had increased.

He said people arriving from the airport, particularly those arriving from abroad, were being looted by robbers who presented themselves as officials of the counterterrorism department and the Special Branch of police.

The police claimed that arrested suspects originally hailing from Lahore had been involved in crimes since last seven years and involved in around 50 street crime incidents.

The family were dissatisfied with the version of the police that Maqsood was gunned down by robbers and blamed the police for loss of the young man’s life who was stated to be only brother of his sisters.

The Maqsood murder case was considered third high-profile incident, which occurred in the city last month.

Two other high profile cases were Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud and the student Intizar Ahmed, who were gunned down by the police.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2018