ISLAMABAD: The cold-blooded killing of youth Osama Satti in Jan 2021 by a police squad triggered a spate of ‘extrajudicial killings’ in the federal capital, as more than 21 suspects were shot dead and dozens were injured in as many as 90 encounters that took place between Jan 2021 and July 2023.

In these incidents, six policemen embraced martyrdom and 19 officials were injured allegedly by hardened criminals who had attacked them during raids and pickets during the same period, police insiders revealed. Since May 2022 after the change of command in the capital police, 59 encounters occurred wherein 13 suspects were shot dead and 10 were wounded. Two people died in the custody of police since Jan 2021.

Interestingly, most FIRs registered in connection with these cases featured similar content and often blamed accomplices for the killing or injuring of alleged criminals. As per the content of these FIRs, suspects started shooting at the police when they were asked to stop but officials remained safe due to safety gear.

Moreover, there were at least three incidents since May 21, 2022, in which gunmen allegedly managed to set their accomplices free from custody, but they were killed within a day under mysterious circumstances.

21 shot dead in 90 ‘encounters’; 25 killed in 150 robberies in over two years

On July 14, 2022, a suspect was killed during an encounter after his accomplices whisked him away from the custody of the police in Golra. However, he was shot dead in Bhara Kahu on the same day. The said suspect was arrested by the police in connection with the murder of a delivery boy in Sector F-9.

On Sept 9, 2022, a suspect – who allegedly headed a crime syndicate – wanted for rape and robbery charges was killed during a shootout. The FIR stated that he was arrested by the Koral police and on September 9, his partners in crime managed to get him free from the police custody in Ghori Town. The next day, the police killed him during a shootout in G-16.

Similarly, a suspect arrested in connection with the robbery-cum-murder case in G-13 was killed during a shootout in Humak on July 6, only a day after he managed to evade police custody at Expressway with the help of his accomplices.

The modus operandi of these encounters has resulted in allegations of extrajudicial killings against the police in the media, but there were no clarifications or denial by the police.

In addition to encounters, at least 150 robberies occurred since January 2021, in which 25 victims, including a policeman and two robbers, were murdered while 141 victims, including a policeman and five robbers, were injured.

Police officials told Dawn that criminals have become “more aggressive and violent during the last couple of years”. They claimed that their interrogations revealed that the majority of the culprits were under the influence of ice [meth] during these crimes. “The intoxicated robbers are trigger-happy …and some shoot victims for pleasure while others out of fear,” police officials claimed.

In March, in G-13, robbers shot a 21-year-old boy seven times during a robbery. The reason behind this cold-blooded murder was that the boy refused to hand over his mobile phone, the robbers revealed during the interrogation.

Before the murder, the robber had a heartless exchange. “Should I kill the boy [for not giving up his phone],” the shooter asked his accomplice. “Yes, do it” was the response before the boy was shot several times.

In an attack targetting a police picket on June 2023, the trigger-happy criminals, without any apparent reason, shot and injured a policeman who was on duty at a picket. According to the policeman, he did not even know he was shot. “When I touched my leg after a burning sensation and found blood on my thigh, I came to know I was shot,” the official was quoted as saying by sources.

Police said it was difficult to arrest robbers because witnesses were often scared to identify the culprits and without witnesses, it was very difficult to establish guilt in these cases.

“In some such cases witnesses were available but they were reluctant to identify the criminals due to fear about the safety of their families… majority of the robbery cases, including robbery cum-murder attempt the eyewitnesses have some fear.”

For instance, in the G-13 robbery case, the complainant refused to become part of the identification parade over safety fears. In another case, a senior serviceman asked police to install a screen between him and the suspect owing to safety reasons. Police claimed since people refused to identify culprits it was difficult to get conviction despite the availability of concrete proof. Other types of evidence are only supportive to identify culprits, said police officials.

Though difficult, such circumstances still do not permit the police to feel entitled to get rid of criminals through extrajudicial methods, the officers said, adding that although the “accused is a favourite child of law, the police have to become ruthless to deal with the criminals who murdered or injured people during robberies”.

The encounters in which the suspects were killed in the capital were taken place with “hardened and trigger-happy criminals”, the officers claimed, adding that the suspects injured – often resulting in a lifetime disability – in such encounters were also habitual criminals.

However, the police officer admitted that the killing of criminals in encounters made no difference, as robberies, including violent ones, were still increasing in the capital.

It seems the criminals do not fear the police. DIG Operations Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari and the PRO for the police were not available for comments on the nature of these encounters despite several attempts.

Published in Dawn, Aug 6th, 2023