KARACHI: Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested four activists of a banned sectarian outfit, including a recently recruited policeman, for their alleged involvement in a Rs5.3 million bank robbery.

The four suspects, identified as Zafarullah, Farhan Noman, Raees and Inayatullah, were arrested in the Nursery area, said Special Investigation Unit (SIU) SSP Mohammad Farooq Awan.

Speaking at a press conference at his office in Saddar, the SIU officer said the suspects had committed Rs5.3 million robbery in Summit Bank near the furniture market in the Baloch Colony area on April 9. They also had snatched a 12-bore repeater and a pistol from two bank guards, he said.

The Baloch Colony police had registered an FIR (122/2015) under Section 395 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the suspects, he added.

“The SIU team also seized the snatched weapons from the custody of the held suspects,” said SSP Awan.

He disclosed that they were identified and arrested with the help of the bank’s closed-circuit television camera footage. The suspects belonged to the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, he said.

The suspect, Zafarullah, was said to be chief of the ASWJ in the Akhtar Colony area, the officer told the media. He added that another suspect, Farhan, was a newly recruited policeman who was under training.

Recently, the SIU SSP said, the police had also arrested one Mohammed Fayaz who confessed to his involvement in a Korangi bank robbery.

It is worth noting here that relatives of Fayaz had recently staged a protest demonstration outside the Landhi police station over his ‘detention’ as the police had denied his arrest. Following the protest, the police authorities suspended the Landhi SHO and also ordered the lodging of an FIR against him along with other policemen on charges of ‘illegal detention’ of Fayaz.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2015

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