ISLAMABAD: A suspect was killed in Kirpa in an alleged encounter with the police in the small hours of Tuesday, Dawn has learnt. After the incident, the capital police claimed that the suspect was killed by the firing of his accomplices.

According to police officers, the incident took place after Sehri in Kirpa, but the case over the alleged encounter was not registered even after the passage of more than 10 hours. They further said the suspect was picked up by the police and detained at a private cell located in a rural area before the alleged encounter.

On Monday, the PRO through a message invited media persons to attend an important press conference of DIG Operations Syed Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari, but it was cancelled at the eleventh hour, the officers said, adding that the press conference was slated to announce the arrest of an alleged criminal wanted in a number of cases, but it was cancelled due to unknown reason.

The police spokesperson told Dawn the encounter occurred after Sehri and a case in this regard had not been registered. He expressed ignorance about the delay in the registration of the FIR. Replying to a question that the police picked up the suspect before the encounter, the PRO responded that the deceased was not arrested by the police.

When asked about the details of the encounter, the PRO showed ignorance and said the FIR over the incident had not been registered.

According to a tweet by the Islamabad police, the capital police raided an area in the remits of the Kirpa police station in response to information about the presence of proclaimed offenders.

The criminals started firing at the police after seeing them, however, the official remained unhurt due to protective measures, the statement said, adding that as a result of the firing by the criminals, one of their accomplices was shot dead.

The deceased was identified as Ahmed Shah. The suspect was wanted in over 12 cases, including a murder and robbery, it added.

During the ongoing year, eight encounters occurred in the capital between the suspects and the police.

In these encounters, two suspects were killed and five were injured. Last year, in at least 63 encounters, 12 suspects were eliminated and 27 were incapacitated. In the same year, a policeman from the Punjab police was also killed and 10 officials of the capital police were injured in such incidents.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2024