CHINIOT: An under-trial accused was shot dead in an encounter with police near Chak 138 on Saturday night.

Police, however, claimed that Maqbool Abdullah, a resident of Faisalabad’s Jaranwala tehsil, was killed by his own accomplices when they tried to rescue him from the police custody.

Officials said the accused was arrested by the Rajoa police for his involvement in various cases and was on physical remand. He was taken to Chak 146 JB for recovery of weapons when his accomplices appeared on two motorcycles and opened fire on the police vehicle. They also snatched the official gun from a policeman and had the accused released and fled towards Chak 137 JB, said police.

They said the officials chased the criminals down near Chak 138 where an exchange of fire took place after which police found the body of the accused. Abdullah was killed in the firing of his accomplices in the fields, they said, adding that his four accomplices escaped.

The police spokesperson, Mohsin Hassan, said Abdullah was involved in heinous crime including rape and murder and 17 cases had been registered against him in various police stations of Faisalabad and Chiniot districts since 2007. He said the accused kidnapped and raped a five-year-old girl of Chak 130 JB on May 21 last and demanded Rs1 million ransom from the family. Police recovered the girl and arrested the suspect. He also killed his ex-wife Irshad Bibi at Chak 128 JB when she refused to stay with him due to his criminal activities, said the spokesperson.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2021