MARDAN: Taking advantage of security lapse, a gunman here on Friday shot dead a murder suspect, who was being taken back to jail by police after producing him in the child protection court of additional district and sessions judge Faryal Zia Mufti in a murder case.

However, relevant officials said the alleged killer had also been gunned down when he started firing over police personnel in a bid to make his escape good from the spot.

The police’s preliminary investigation suggested that a murder case was registered against the victim identified as Adnan on May 24, 2018.

Police claimed that the gunman whose name could not be unidentified was a hired assassin.

The officials at the city police station lodged FIR on the complaint of Rehan Zaib, a cousin of the victim, against Siyar, Sarwar, and Sohrab.

Later, police in a press briefing showed CCTV footage in which the body search of hired assassin was thoroughly carried out by police at the main gate of the court.

They claimed that someone else had provided pistol to the killer on the court premises. They said they had begun further investigations on different angles.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2020