RAWALPINDI: Police made a desperate attempt to force two proclaimed offenders to surrender after surrounding a jungle where they were allegedly hiding and making announcements from the megaphone on Tuesday.

According to sources, following information that the two suspects – Nasir Shafat and Mansoor Shafat - were hiding in the jungle in Dhoke Balandian, Kallar Syedan, a police team led by SP Saddar Division Rai Mazhar Iqbal surrounded the jungle after midnight.

After searching for the suspects for several hours, police made the suspects’ sister and mother to make announcements through megaphones, urging them to surrender to the police. But there was no response.

On May 22, 2019, police had an encounter with the two suspects during which Assistant Sub Inspector Mohammad Safeer was badly injured after being shot by the proclaimed offenders. However, the police picked up the father of the suspects as well as the owner of the house where they were residing.

Regional Police Officer Rawalpindi Ehsan Tufail had expressed his displeasure over what he called an ‘ill-planned’ move by the district police and sought report from the police.

Following the escape of the suspects after the encounter, the police picked up their father, Shafat Hussain, and close relative, Kashif Raza, to force them to surrender but despite the passage of one week, the police have still not been able to track them down.

The police then booked the father and relative under ATA and sent them to jail for 14 days.

Sources said the police were facing problems in capturing the two proclaimed offenders as they did keep mobile phones through which the police could track them.

During an earlier attempt, the police faced strong retaliation when they reached Kashif Raza’s house in Akbari Mohallah where the suspects were present. The suspects opened fire on the police with sophisticated weapons.

As a result, ASI Mohammad Safeer who was leading the raiding party suffered injuries and had to be shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital.

The two proclaimed offenders escaped by jumping rooftops of adjacent houses and firing in the air.

Three FIRs have already been registered against the two suspects and they were declared proclaimed offenders.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2019