KARACHI: A 51-year-old police officer was martyred in Jutland Line, Saddar, on Thursday, officials said.

They added that assistant sub-inspector Ghulam Mohammed was returning home from a court. He was in uniform and riding a motorbike. He stopped at a paan cabin to buy something near the Cantonment Hospital when gunmen riding another motorbike opened fire on him and fled with the victim’s official pistol.

The ASI sustained critical bullet wounds in the mouth and chest and was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in an ambulance by his brother where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival, said Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the JPMC.

DIG South Javed Akbar Riaz, who visited the crime scene, told the media that the shooter came close to the officer and told him “Do you recognise me?” before shooting him dead. He added that the officer was near his home when attacked. The incident occurred at 11.30am.

The senior officer said that it would be premature to term it a targeted killing. He said it was being checked which cases were being pursued by the slain officer.

Another officer said it seemed to be a targeted killing. He was posted at the investigation wing of the Artillery Maidan police station. The victim was father of six.

This is the second killing of a policeman in the last few weeks. On July 11, constable Asghar was shot at and wounded in the Korangi area. He later died. The shooters had also taken the pistol of the policeman.

About the killing of policeman Asghar, Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon told Dawn it was not clear at this stage. It might be a targeted killing. However, the involvement of ordinary criminals can also not be ruled out as they shot him (Asghar) in the abdomen rather than the head or chest which normally targeted killers do, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2020