KARACHI: As the police chief transferred investigation into the recent escape of two ‘hardcore militants’ from the judicial complex to the counter-terrorism department on Friday, a top CTD officer said the escape could be ‘part of a bigger conspiracy’.

Shaikh Mohammad Mumtaz and Ahmed alias Munna, who were associated with the Hafiz Qasim Rasheed group of the Naeem Bukhari-led Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, had been arrested four years ago for killing over 60 people.

Since Shaikh Mumtaz was a known shooter of the banned sectarian outfit, there were ‘serious apprehensions’ that he with his accomplices could carry out targeted killings in Karachi, said CTD Sindh chief Dr Sanaullah Abbasi while speaking to Dawn after chairing a meeting of the investigation team on Friday.

The CTD got red alert issued particularly for the metropolis to meet any eventuality, he said.

Sharing his observation with Dawn, CTD DIG Amir Farooqi, who is leading the investigation team comprising SSP for Intelligence Omar Shahid Hamid, Investigations SSP Naveed Ahmed Nisar Khowaja, Investigations DSP Zahid Hussain and officer in charge of TTIG Raja Umar Khattab, said it was strange that the district east police did not seek physical custody of the 12 arrested jail officials on Thursday when they were produced before court.

DIG Farooqi said they decided that the jail officials would be produced before the court again to seek their custody for investigation. Their physical custody was needed to ascertain as to whether the UTPs escaped owing to their negligence or connivance, he added.

The DIG said that during their visit to the central prison and talk with the jail staff it emerged that the jail staff had been doing them undue favours due to their fear partly because the LJ militants had been involved in the targeted killing of police and jail officials in the past.

He said Shaikh Mumtaz, allegedly involved in the killing of 57 people, including eight to 10 police officials, 23 Muttahida Qaumi Movement workers and a number of others belonging to the Shia community.

Ahmed alias Munna had once conducted reconnaissance for making an attempt on the life of the then jailer of the Central Prison before being arrested. The CTD investigation team head recalled that they had shared these findings with the jail authorities.

Militants recently shifted back to Karachi jail

The CTD DIG said the escaped UTPs were linked with the Hafiz Qasim Rasheed group of the LJ outfit. He added that Qasim Rasheed was also languishing in the Central Prison Karachi where he had recently been transferred from the Sukkur jail with some other militants on the Supreme Court order.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2017