The leader of a rival gang was killed inside the office of Faisalabad senior superintendent of police (SSP) in the presence of dozens of policemen the other day. Reportedly, deceased Saqib Shah, a resident of Chak No 237 RB Khudian Warraichan, was escorted to the office of Investigation SSP Doctor Abid by Sadar Station House Officer (SHO) Ayyub Sahi for an inquiry in connection with the murder of Muhammad Ali Shah, Qamar Ali Shah and their friend Abbas Lakk.
All of them were killed outside the Anti-Terrorism Court Faisalabad last year. Saqib Shah was nominated as the main accused in the case but he was acquitted by the court as he succeeded in proving his innocence by taking the plea of alibi. When the two parties appeared before the SSP, accused Shahbaz Ali and Ahad Shah took out pistols hidden under their garments and fired several shots at Saqab Shah who was seriously wounded during the attack.
He was rushed to the Allied Hospital where doctors tried to save his life, but he died due to excessive bleeding. The attackers who did not attempt to escape after shooting surrendered themselves to the police and stated during the interrogation that they had planned to kill him after the justice was denied to them in the triple murder case.
The rival groups of the same village of Khuddian Warraichan have a long history of blood feuds, taking the lives of several men and women from both sides in this notorious tribal vendetta. Over the course of several years, most of the members of both parties have been killed, imprisoned or have absconded as a fallout of the merciless fighting.
However, the circumstances prevailing in the killing of Saqib Shah have raised a big question mark on the performance of police. Ayyub Sahi who has the highest number of police encounters to his credit or otherwise, personally escorted the deceased to the SSP office. Nobody from the police explained how two enemy groups were brought to stand against each other without ensuring that they were not carrying arms. It was the duty of the police officer concerned to disarm any person before his entry into the SSP office.
The incident took place in the office in the presence of the police contingent involved in the process. When accused Ahad Shah and Shahbaz Ali took out their pistols, no police personnel intervened to stop them from firing at the deceased.
The deceased’s party said the victim was very cautious about his personal security and was always accompanied by his body guards. He is reported to have asked his guards to stay back after assurance from police who promised him a complete security. No inquiry had been called to investigate the high profile incident that took place at the centre of the police.
No one had been suspended owing to the security lapse, encouraging the rival group to settle their scores. The sources said the incident that took place under the nose of police was in fact a premeditated plan hatched in collaboration with some elements of the police.
