ISLAMABAD, May 16: Investigation into the murder of Supreme Court’s Additional Registrar Syed Hammad Amjad Raza is focussed on several ‘theories.’

“Investigators are looking at several theories in connection with the murder of Supreme Court’s officer, mostly focusing on a `robbery case’ rather than the `target killing and a message to judges’ as his family has claimed,” a senior police official close to the investigation told Dawn on Wednesday.

Supreme Court’s Additional Registrar Syed Hammad Amjad Raza, a father of three, was murdered by a gang of four armed men who had broken into his house through kitchen, held his parents at gunpoint and then going upstairs shot Mr Hammad at point-blank range, killing him on the spot.

As part of the investigation, police are checking the record of history-sheeters and trying to let members of the victim’s family identify the culprits by showing them photographs of the gangs of robbers who are on police record.

“There are different gangs of robbers and they all have different ways of striking. The way the four-member gang struck the Supreme Court officer is being matched with those on police record,” Islamabad’s Deputy Inspector-General of Police Shahid Nadeem Baloch told Dawn.

As part of the investigation, a police officer has been sent to Lahore to seek help from the slain officer’s family.

The parents of the deceased, Mr Baloch said, had been requested to help the police, because they had seen the armed men,” Mr Baloch said.

The police had collected one live round and an empty cartridge and documented finger prints. Sketches of the culprits would be drawn after sharing the record of culprits with the victim’s family, police said.

As part of the investigation, law-enforcement officials have interviewed labourers, electricians, servants and housemaids who had worked at Mr Hammad’s house in the past.

Meawhile, DIG Shahid Nadeem Baloch, SSP Zafar Iqbal and SP (Investigation) Ashfaq Ahmed appeared before Mr Justice Javed Iqbal and Mr Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar on Wednesday.

The judges directed the police officers to ensure that the investigation was conducted fairly, impartially, honestly and expeditiously so that offenders were brought to justice.

The judges were informed that SSP (Investigation) Ashfaq Ahmad was investigating the case and the probe would cover all aspects and every effort would be made not only to trace the culprits, but to do it expeditiously.

The judges directed the police officers to submit daily progress report in writing by 1 pm.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Pakistan DMG Association was held in Islamabad on Wednesday to condemn the murder of Syed Hammad Raza. The representative body of the DMG officers passed a resolution, demanding a judicial inquiry by a judge of the high court into the murder of Mr Hammad.

They demanded formation of a legal committee to pursue the investigation and judicial inquiry into the murder.

They also decided to wear black armbands every Monday for a month to express their solidarity with Mr Hammad and to express their concern over the murder.

They also called for a memorial reference in Mr Hammad’s memory.