NAROWAL, Jan 2: A ‘most wanted’ proclaimed offender was killed in an ‘encounter’ with police here on Thursday night.

Mubashar Butt, who was wanted by the Narowal police in the murder of seven people and many cases of attempt to murder, terrorism and extortion, was killed in the ‘encounter’, but his accomplice fled, taking advantage of the darkness and fog. Constable Ramzan was also injured in the encounter.

Narowal City SHO Nasir Mahmood said he along with other policemen was present at a picket near the railway crossing on Circular Road when he saw two men going toward the Narowal railway station on a motorcycle. He said the policemen at the picket tried to stop them, but they opened fire at them and injured Ramzan.

The criminals ran toward the vegetable market and the police chased them. An encounter ensued, the police called in reinforcement and killed one of the criminals in the crossfire that continued for half an hour. However, one of the criminals fled.

The SHO identified the killed criminal as Mubashar Butt. He said Butt was a vegetable dealer when he killed his fellow dealer, Mian Shahid, of Narowal vegetable market in February 2005 over a business dispute. Later, he was declared a proclaimed offender.

In 2007, Butt killed Mian Khalid, the brother of Shahid, for pursuing the murder case of his brother. In this attack, Butt also killed five other people who were present at Khalid’s shop at the time of the incident.

In the following years, Butt started threatening and blackmailing businessmen to extort money from them. He threw grenades at business places or houses of those who refused to pay him money.

District Police Officer Tariq Rustam Chohan said police had been in search of Butt since long and special teams were after him.