ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday took notice of the killing of 21-year-old Osama Satti, who was shot dead early on Saturday by five personnel of the capital police’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), and directed Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed to submit a report to him within 24 hours.

On the premier’s directive, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari and Minister of State for Narcotics Control Sheharyar Afridi visited the house of the deceased in Sector G-13 of Islamabad.

Although it was a Sunday, a duty magistrate handed over the five CTD personnel involved in the killing to police on physical remand for three days.

A judicial inquiry has already been ordered in the case by Islamabad’s Chief Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed. According to the FIR lodged by Nadeem Satti, the victim’s father, his son had had an altercation with the CTD officials a day before the killing and the police personnel had threatened him with dire consequences.

Five CTD personnel remanded in police custody for three days

On Jan 2, at around 2am, Osama had gone to drop a friend in H-11 Sector. When he was returning, the police officials intercepted his vehicle and fired at him from all sides, which resulted in his death, the FIR said.

The case was registered with Ramna police station under 7ATA and PPC’s sections 302, 148 and 149.

However, in a statement the police’s public relations office said the security personnel had received a call at around 1.30am that some robbers travelling in a white car had committed a robbery in H-13 Sector, in the jurisdiction of Shams Colony police station. Acting on the information, the police personnel deputed on patrol duty tried to stop the white Suzuki car with tinted glasses.

But despite repeated calls from police officials, the driver did not stop, the statement said, adding that the police then chased the vehicle for about five kilometres, but even then the driver did not slow down. Ultimately, the police opened fire at the vehicle, but unfortunately the driver got hit and succumbed to his injuries, it claimed.

The statement further claimed that Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan immediately formed an inquiry committee, headed by DIG Waqaruddin Syed, and ordered the arrest of Sub-Inspector Iftikhar Ahmed and Constables Mudassar Mukhtar, Shakeel Ahmed, Saeed Ahmed and Mohammad Mustafa.

At the residence of the late Osama Satti on Sunday, Mr Bukhari and Mr Afridi offered condolences to the grieving family members and assured them that tough action would be taken against those involved in the incident.

A police official said the five CTD officials were produced in the court of duty magistrate. The magistrate was requested that they be handed over for a physical remand lasting five days. However, the court granted a remand for three days.

According to the police official, two criminal cases had been registered against the deceased, one for fraud in July 2018 and the other under the Narcotics Act in October 2018.

However, a retired senior police officer told Dawn a computerised FIR of 2018 was being circulated by some police officials, so it could be a “fake one”.

“Even if, for the sake of argument, it’s accepted that it is a genuine FIR, police had no right to shoot the deceased (dead). Also, the father’s statement is sufficient because he has said that his son exchanged heated words with police officials a day before the incident and told him about it,” he said.

Another Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader, Amir Mughal, also went to the house of Osama. On the occasion he said the Islamabad police had lately turned the federal capital into a “police state”.

IGP Zulfiqar Khan said that a joint investigation team had been constituted under the supervision of SP Sarfaraz Ahmed Virk.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2021