LAHORE, Jan 10: The Punjab police, it seems, have again chosen the course adopted by the Sharifs to control law and order by killing hardened criminals in ‘staged’ encounters.
In the first nine days of the current year, the police killed 13 alleged outlaws in 10 ‘encounters’ in different parts of the province. Of them, six ‘criminals’ were killed in Multan in five shootouts, three fell prey to police firing in Lahore in two encounters, two in Sheikhupura in as many incidents, and one each in Kasur and Gujranwala.
A senior officer said the police failure to curb the recent spate of heinous crimes had strengthened this theory (of eliminating outlaws). “This is against the Punjab police administration resolve not to follow the policies of previous governments of adopting desperate measures like illegal confinement, maltreatment and custodial deaths to arrest crime rate,” the officer said.
He read out a document signed by Punjab IGP Malik Asif Hayat which said: “Custodial deaths and high-handedness of the police will not be tolerated at any level. Any such incident will be followed by immediate criminal and departmental action.”
Like Multan’s, Lahore shootouts also raise many questions. Imtiaz alias Billu and Javed alias Bodi were accused of killing a policeman in Shadbagh some weeks ago besides being charged with different nature of crimes, including bank robberies.
Sources in police department said that the two, along with their as many accomplices, Asghar and Javed, were arrested from Lala Musa some days after the Shadbagh shootout. Imtiaz was killed in an encounter in Shahdara town while Javed alias Bodi was eliminated in Defence. A CIA Kotwali team headed by DSP Akhtar Khan which participated in the two encounters made conflicting claims in the end.
The registration of a criminal case against four policemen and their suspension from service in Gujranwala had also made dubious the encounter they had participated in to kill a PO. First, the policemen claimed that the PO was killed in an encounter but later they changed their stand, saying that he had committed suicide when they raided his hideout.
Similarly, the killing of another PO in Sheikhupura was doubtful. He was accused of killing an SHO some hours before he himself was killed in a shootout.
A majority of the fresh police encounters took place in Multan. Referring to its reason, a police source said that best combination of ‘encounter-friendly’ officers was posted there. One of them is SSP Malik Ahmad Raza Tahir and other city division SP Javed Shah. Both the officers have reportedly killed dozens of ‘outlaws’ during their posting in Lahore when the Sharifs resumed encounters.
Besides, there are other several encounter-friendly police officers posted in the Punjab. Like, DSPs Omar Virk, Masood Aziz and Akhtar Khan alias Pehalwan, inspector Mian Shafqat and sub-inspector Bashir Niazi, a known hitman of the police, are posted in Lahore. DSP Malik Karamat was posted in Hasilpur after his return from Bosnia.
When contacted for comments through his spokesman, the Punjab IGP was not available on Thursday. “He is in Islamabad,” the spokesman said, adding: “I will be able to say something about the encounters after discussing it with the IGP.” Later, DIG headquarters Tariq Masood Khosa was contacted by telephone at his house but he, too, was not available.
The fresh wave of encounters is also being discussed in police circles. In an informal discussion, an officer posted in Lahore remembered the last tenure of the deposed Sharifs. “I refused to execute two car-snatchers in an encounter because I did not want to be accused of such an illegality,” he said. Later, he said, an inspector killed the two suspects after producing them before a court in Model Town.
In another such sitting, another officer, however, defended the encounters and criticised reporters sitting across his table for not supporting police cause.
Following is the chronology of the police encounters which took place in first nine days of this year. 1) Anwar alias Annu was killed by the CIA staff in Kasur on Jan 1. 2) Imtiaz alias Billu was killed by the CIA in Lahore on Jan 1. 3) Rafiq and Aashiq Hussain were killed in Jalalpur Peerwala, Multan, on Jan 3. 4) An alleged car-snatcher was killed on Bosan Road in Multan on Jan 4. 5) Riaz alias Raju accused of killing the Muridke city SHO was killed in Ferozwala, Sheikhupura, on Jan 5. 6) Imran and Amir, activists of the SSP and LT, were killed at MDA Chowk in Multan on Jan 7. 7) Awais was killed near Nawab Sir Baland Garden in Multan on Jan 7. 8) Kaka Joolaha was killed in Gujranwala on Jan 7. 9) Azhar alias Dana was killed in Mehtasouja village by Narang police in Sheikhupura. He had been accused of killing 14 people, including three policemen. 10) Javed alias Bodi and Rafaqat Ali were killed by Defence police in Lahore on Jan 9. Javed was accused of committing bank robberies and killing some people, including a policeman.
From 1997 to 1999, during the Sharifs’ tenure, some 967 outlaws were killed in 1,027 encounters in the Punjab. Some 168 policemen and 24 innocent citizens also fell prey to the shootouts.