KOHAT: Unknown motorcyclists shot dead a constable standing guard at an imambargah in Bannu Bazaar here on Wednesday.

Eyewitnesses said two men on a motorcycle came to Imambargah Rizwaya, one of them disembarked and came to the constable and started talking with him. Then suddenly, he pulled a pistol and fired three shots, one of which hit the cop’s temple, killing him on the spot. The slain was identified as Raza Ali.

The shopkeepers, who knew the constable, said that he had an enmity and that he was killed by his rivals. But it could not be confirmed independently.

As the incident took place at about 11am, it caused fear among the businessmen because the area is among the most sensitive localities of the district. They said a second guard was standing on roof of the Imambargah but he did not retaliate to stop the attackers, apparently because there was big rush of people in the bazaar at the time of the incident.

The body of the slain constable was taken to the women and children hospital where after autopsy it was carried to the police lines for funeral prayers.

DIG, Kohat region, Awal Khan, district police officer Mohammad Sohaib Ashraf, chairman of Wahdat Council Syed Ibne Ali and large number of officers and jawans of police attended his funeral prayers.

Later, he was laid to rest in his ancestral graveyard in Ustarzai.

The DPO while talking to journalists said the incident was a sign that extremists wanted to disrupt peace in Kohat in Muharram, but they won’t be allowed to achieve their nefarious designs.

The CTD, Kohat division, registered FIR of the case against unidentified men.

Published in Dawn September 29th, 2016