KARACHI: Four policemen were arrested on charges of wounding a young man and a teenager in a fake encounter near Abbas Town, police said on Monday.

Initially, the Sachal police termed it an encounter but after a protest by the victims’ relatives, higher authorities ordered an inquiry into the incident which concluded that it was a fake encounter.

A police spokesperson said that two men riding a motorbike were shot at and wounded near Abbas Town on Sunday evening. Initially, information about the encounter with dacoits was received. The Sachal DSP visited the spot where no firearm or stolen property was found. After assuming it was a suspicious encounter, the DIG-East ordered Gulshan SP Maroof Usman to hold an inquiry into it. At the beginning of the inquiry, a case of police encounter was registered.

When the policemen involved in it were questioned during the inquiry, they stated that they motioned to the bike riders to stop but they tried to flee and the policemen opened fire on them. The policemen claimed that they resorted to firing when the two men tried to escape.

According to the Gulshan SP, the policemen had committed “criminal negligence” during duty, therefore, they were arrested and a case was registered against them. The held policemen were identified as Asghar Ali, Abdul Qadir, Sabir and Bahadur.

The wounded young men identified as Ubaidullah, 25, and Asif Gondal, 18, were admitted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment.

JPMC’s Dr Seemin Jamali said that Ubaidullah suffered bullet wounds in the abdomen and his condition was serious as he had undergone major surgery at the hospital. However, the teenager’s condition was out of danger.

Woman shot dead

A woman was shot dead while her nephew was injured over a property dispute in Orangi Town’s Mominabad area on Monday.

Police said Gulnaz Jawed was shot dead while Jawad Shah was wounded in Faqeer Colony.

Area SHO Waseem Ahmed said that the deceased woman had a property dispute with a relative, Zainul Abideen. She was also shot at and injured allegedly around six months ago by the same suspect.

The police have registered a murder case against him. The body was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2021