LAHORE: The Lahore investigation police high-ups have reportedly turned down the request of the Crime Control Department (CCD) Lahore for the transfer of the high profile murder case of young Ameer Balaj Tepu to the department after the Dubai police arrested one of the key murder suspects—Khawaja Tareef Gulshan alias Teefi Butt—who was nominated in the murder FIR along with Khawaja Aqeel alias Gogi Butt and others.

The request was formally submitted by the CCD Lahore to the DIG investigation police for the transfer of the case under Article 18C of the Police Order 2002 to the department. This specific article was introduced in 2025 by the Punjab Assembly as the Police Order (Amendment) Act 2025, inserting Article 18C after the omission of Article 18B.

An official, privy to the development, said the CCD wanted to investigate the high profile case following the involvement of murder of young Balaj who became a victim of a three-generation old alleged gang-war between Billa Trauckanwala and the Butts’ families.

As per the reports, he said, Billa Truckanwala, the grandfather of Ameer Balaj, was allegedly murdered in 1998 and this killing had begun the feud between the above-mentioned two families in the Walled City of Lahore. Later, Balaj’s father Tepu Truckanwala was also allegedly shot dead in an armed attack at the Lahore International Airport in 2010. The murder of young Balaj in Chuhng in 2024 again brought the issue to the limelight, prompting the police to tighten the noose around the gangs of Lahore, the official said. He added that the CCD Lahore claimed that Teefi Butt was detained by the Dubai police in the Balaj’s murder case on the efforts of the extradition cell of the department. Following the major breakthrough, he said, the CCD Lahore initiated a process under article 18C of the Police Order 2002 for the transfer of the murder case of Ameer Balaj (34) to the department.

The official said that the CCD Lahore police further claimed that gang-war related killings fell within the purview of the department, which was established to eradicate the notorious crime by arresting the hardened criminals. That’s why the department wanted to investigate the high profile murder case ofi Ameer Balaj.

On the other hand, the source said that the senior command of the investigation wing of the Lahore police claimed a police team, headed by Saddar Division Investigation SP, had almost finalised the investigations into the murder case.

According to the investigation police, he said, the Chuhng investigation police team had done a lot of work in this particular case by setting aside the tremendous pressure exerted on them from ‘all sides’. He said many elements came to the support of the underworld dons but the investigation police not only arrested four key murder suspects but also declared Gogi Butt guilty in the case.

Quoting a senior officer of the investigation wing, the official source said that the Lahore investigation police had secured a red notice through Interpol for the arrest of Teefi Butt when he fled to the United Arab Emirates. In a major breakthrough some two days back, he said the Dubai police reportedly detained Teefi and credit went to the investigation wing. He said that Pakistan and the UAE had a bilateral extradition treaty that outlined the specific conditions under which extradition could occur, including for certain criminal offences.

Following the treaty, the Lahore investigation police high-ups initiated the process to bring the murder suspect back to Pakistan.

The source said a team of the investigation police would travel to the UAE in the days to come to get custody of detained Teefi in the murder case of Ameer Balaj.

On Saturday, police claimed to have arrested Teefi Butt from Dubai with the help of Interpol.

Police said DSP Khalid Waria of the extradition cell was in Dubai to arrest two declared suspects when a raid was conducted. The operation, carried out in coordination with Dubai Police, took place inside a flat where Teefi Butt was unexpectedly present at a party. The DSP identified Teefi Butt and initiated the arrest process. Currently, Teefi Butt is in Dubai police custody.

Police sources said Teefi Butt had initially fled to Glasgow (UK) soon after the murder of Ameer Balaj. Recently, he travelled to Dubai for renewal of his London visa after it expired, which ultimately led to his capture.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2025