LAHORE: The Organised Crime Unit (OCU) claims to have arrested the main shooter, who allegedly murdered Javed Butt, the brother-in-law of Khwaja Tareef Gulshan alias Teefi Butt, allegedly an underworld don.

As per the police, the arrested suspect, Azhar Butt, during initial investigation revealed that he was hired by slain Ameer Balaj Tipu’s brother Ameer Musab, who under a deal, paid him Rs500,000 in cash, besides promising a five-marla house, that was to be handed over to him after completion of the task of killing Javed Butt.

The OCU teams also claimed to have arrested another “hired assassin”, Ilyas, a close friend of Azhar Butt, while the third suspect, Arif, was still at large.

Lahore OCU DIG Imran Kishwar confirmed to Dawn that the two key suspects had been arrested from Peshawar.

Suspect claims he was hired by slain Balaj’s brother Musab

He said Azhar Butt confessed his crime and told the OCU interrogators that he was hired by Balaj’s brother Ameer Musab, who was abroad these days.

The DIG said Azhar, his friend Ilyas and Arif were identified by the police through the data of private CCTV cameras installed around the crime scene, FCC underpass on the Canal Road, and nearby arteries.

“It was Azhar Butt who fired shots at the victim using a semi-automatic Turkey-made Zigana pistol, which proved fatal,” the DIG said, adding that the suspect’s accomplice, Ilyas, was also present there to act as an alternate shooter in case the prime suspect missed the target. Similarly, he said, the third suspect, Arif, was present there to act ‘if required’.

After Azhar Butt completed his task, the suspects fled the scene on separate motorbikes, the DIG said, adding that they remained underground for a couple of days to avoid arrest. Azhar and Ilyas then went to Murree using public transport and later reached Abbottabad, the DIG said.

“We kept chasing them to trace their locations by using modern technology and human intelligence,” Mr Kishwar said.

Giving details of the operation, the DIG said the suspects also tired to dodge the police by switching off their mobile phones ahead of OCU teams’ raids.

“We also worked hard on the close relatives and friends of the suspects who were in contact with them,” the DIG said.

The police, he said, traced and picked one Sameen Gull Khan, a resident of KP, who had arranged the stay of the two suspects in a hotel in Abbottabad using his own CNIC.

He said as the OCU teams were preparing for a raid on the hotel, the suspects moved to Peshawar.

However, the police also traced the hotel where the suspects were staying in Peshawer, using the CNIC of a local, Akram Khan.

“We wasted no time, conducted a raid and arrested Azhar Butt and Ilyas,” the DIG said.

About the third suspect, Arif, he said his last location was traced in Kasur where the police teams were working.

He said so far there was no concrete evidence of apparent involvement of Musab’s brother Ameer Fateh in hiring the shooters for Javed Butt’s murder.

The DIG said that Arif was said to be an employee of Tipu’s family and was involved in the planning of Javed’s murder. He said Arif shared the assassination plan with his close friend Azhar, who agreed and engaged Ilyas.

He said Azhar was earning his livelihood by driving a rented auto-rickshaw and had a criminal record, adding that the OCU police were interrogating the suspects for more details of the crime.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2024