Just days after the killing of five unarmed foreigners by Frontier Corps personnel in Quetta and the brutal murder of a young boy by Rangers in Karachi, senior officials of the Punjab Police on Monday admitted that a youth was killed in a staged encounter in Nishtar Colony police precincts a couple of days ago.
It is for the first time in Punjab’s history that its police have confessed to staging an encounter. Police Training School (PTS) Chung Principal DIG Major (r) Mubashir told reporters that a case had been lodged against four police officials, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), for killing the youth in a staged encounter. He said Punjab IG Javed Iqbal had taken notice of the fake encounter after the media highlighted the issue, and ordered an inquiry report within 24 hours.
According to the inquiry report, three robbers stormed into Makka Medical Store situated in Nishtar police precincts late on Friday. They took the store owner hostage at gunpoint and looted Rs 35,000. As they were trying to escape, the shop owner’s brother held of one the robbers, identified as Shahbaz Butt of Shadbagh, and handed him over to the police.