The Gulberg Police late on Friday night killed a suspected robber while his accomplice managed to escape despite being seriously injured in an alleged encounter on Hali Road. However, on Saturday, a private TV channel obtained a CCTV footage of the incident, after which it claimed that the encounter was fake.
CCTV’S STORY: According to the CCTV footage, a man in white clothes is seen hiding behind a tree when he was chased out by the police and shot dead. The grainy footage then shows a policeman putting a pistol near the dead body.
POLICE’S STORY: Following claims that the encounter had been staged, DIG Operations Rai Tahir reached the spot and obtained information from the witnesses.
Police sources told
Pakistan Today that two suspected robbers riding a motorcycle ignored a police signal to stop, prompting a chase. They said that the suspects opened fire on the police, which retaliated and injured one of them.
They said that the suspects rode their motorcycle towards Gurumangat Road and entered a private clinic where they forced a doctor to treat them. Meanwhile, the police also reached the spot and cordoned off the area but the two suspects managed to break through the police net and sped their motorcycle towards Hussain Chowk where another shootout ensued. The injured suspect succumbed to his wounds while his accomplice, who also received bullet injuries during the encounter, managed to escape in the cover of darkness.
WITNESSES’ ACCOUNT: According to witnesses, the police tried to stop two men at a checkpost when the men started firing. One of the alleged robbers got injured in an exchange of fire with the police and was dropped off at a local clinic by his accomplice, who escaped from the scene. A male nurse at Khalid Clinic, Muhammad Boota, told Pakistan Today that an injured robber had entered his clinic and demanded that he be treated immediately, adding that the robber was also exchanging fire with the police outside. He said that the robber, who was later identified as Moshin Abbas from Chakwal, left his clinic and then hid behind the tree. He was later chased out and shot dead by the police.
Commenting on the footage, Punjab IG Habibur Rehman said that he was opposed to fake encounters and would conduct a thorough probe of the incident.
He said that a high-level enquiry team had been formed to investigate the incident and it would submit a report in two days.
ENCOUNTERS OVERVIEW: Having failed to curb the crime rate in the city, the city police have increasingly been involved in killing suspected criminals in questionable encounters.
From January 2012 to the start of December, there have been more than 280 incidents of police encounters in Punjab while more than 75 such schisms have been registered in Lahore alone. The crime rate however, remains more or less unchanged irrespective of the police’s efforts.
The first few days of December have seen five deaths of alleged criminals in Lahore at the hands of the police in their attempt to finish the year on a statistically better position.
In the past week, CIA Nawan Kot killed two suspected criminals in Shahdra in an encounter while two others managed to escape according to police sources.
Per police sources, they surrounded four suspected criminals on two motorcycles in Shahdra which initiated a shootout killing two of the four criminals. The dead criminals are said to have conducted numerous robberies and crimes.
Likewise, the police tried to stop a suspicious motorcycle without a license plate in Nishtar Colony which resulted in an exchange of fire when the motorcyclists did not comply. The clash resulted in the death of one of the assailants. Further investigation revealed that the motorcycle was stolen a few days ago near the Burki area.
CIA City, in another encounter, killed two suspected criminals near Tibbi city area.
According to police sources, a committee has been put in place to monitor and control crime rate in the city. The sources claim that the department is fully committed to carrying out its duties with utmost honesty and dedication. However, they claim that the Investigation Wing comprises only 4,000 officials which are insufficient for a city with a population of more than 10 million. Anarkali’s Rehmat Market President Haji Naeem while talking to Pakistan Today said the government must take special measures to control crime in the province.
Criminals roam free on the roads in the dark of the night and even broad daylight, he said, adding that people fear stepping out of their homes after evening.
Talking to Pakistan Today, DIG Operations Rai Tahir claimed that all encounters in 2012 so far have been justified and were necessary. “There is no doubt that Punjab Police officials have been risking their lives to counter and eliminate dangerous criminals. To date, all those who have been killed in encounters were involved in heinous crimes,” he stated.
He further said that Lahore Police has registered cases against more than 1,000 dangerous criminals whose arrest resulted in recovery of heavy amounts of weapons and ammunition. These criminals, during robberies, had killed more than 25 citizens and injured more than 100, he said.
“All encounters are
justified and necessary.”
– DIG Rai Tahir
Shootout in Ghalib Market brings police encounters in spotlight yet again
