LAHORE, July 11: Catch me if u can appears to be the message of the serial killer(s) responsible for eight murders in 25 days to Lahore police. Of the eight murders, says police record, four had been committed in the presence of a heavy police contingent deployed in civvies in localities around the Minar-i-Pakistan where the killer(s) had made most of his strikes.

City police chief DIG Tariq Saleem says that evidence gathered so far have confirmed that the murders are serial killings.

The last two strikes of Saturday and Sunday had been made at a time when plainclothesmen were busy searching people on pavements, grounds and parks in the localities.

Of earlier six killings, a police source said, two had taken place in the Minar-i-Pakistan grounds where the police in civvies had been deployed.

The source said that the killer(s) had something to convey to the police as one of the eight men was murdered close to the office of the City division police SP and another near the office of the Lahore operations police SSP.

“It seems as if the killer(s) has been roaming among policemen before and after the crime. If one goes through the police record, one may find that serial killers used to challenge police through different ways.”

The source said over 600 plainclothesmen had been deployed in the localities where the strikes had taken place.

Lahore investigation police chief SSP Shafqaat Ahmad said that his teams were working along different lines. He said they were also checking the record of previous such incidents. He said he had asked the teams to confirm the whereabouts of the man arrested in the last serial killing.

“I think he has been convicted.”

The SSP said the killings were being committed by either two or more people. The killer must be a strong man if he is operating alone, he said.

Supporting his argument, he said the last man killed near D-Plaza had been hit in the head with a 20kg stone. Stones of same weight have also been used in two earlier strikes by the killer(s), he said.

“I am sure someone with a psychological disorder is involved in it.

He said the killer(s) had also searched pockets of the victims.

The serial killer(s) has been on the loose for over three weeks and walking around pavements, grounds or parks to hunt for victims.

Following is the chronology of the eight murders.

Two men in their 30s, unidentified so far, were killed in the Minar-i-Pakistan ground. Two blood soaked bricks were found close to the bodies.

Two more men were murdered in a Yakki Gate ground. One of them was identified as Ashar Mushtaq, 32, a resident of Misri Shah.

A man was killed on a footpath near the SSP office.

A man was hit and killed when he was asleep on a pavement close to the office of the city division police SP. His arm was tattooed with a name, Tariq Bao.

Azhar, 40, a resident of Faisalabad, a labourer, was killed again in the Minar-i-Pakistan ground.

Jamil, 80, a homeless person, was hit with a stone near D-Plaza.