LAHORE – Unidentified armed men shot and killed two patrolling constables on Lower Mall late on Saturday. The killers also snatched an SMG rifle and police identity cards from 40-year-old Abdul Razaq, a resident of Sialkot and 26-year-old Sajjad Hussain, a resident of Safdarabad district in Sheikhupura.
The police said they set up a picket behind Ghora Hospital a few days ago. On Saturday, constables Abdul Razzaq and Sajjad Hussain were on a routine patrol in the area. Both were spearheading the patrol while ASI Niaz and another constable Aman Ullah were behind them. On seeing three suspicious pedestrians, they signaled them to stop over which they pulled out their weapons and opened fire on the two constables, killing them instantly.
The killers collected an SMG rifle and police identity cards of the two deceased men and fled without being chased by the other policemen. Police handed over the bodies to their relatives after their funeral prayers at Police Lines Qila Gujjar Singh on Sunday. Inspector General of Police Punjab Javed Iqbal, Capital City Police Officer Muhammad Aslam Tareen, DIG Operations Rao Sardar and SSP Investigations Abdul Razzaq Cheema attended the funeral prayers.
The senior police officials announced three million rupees each as compensation for the relatives of Abdul Razzaq and Sajjad. Police also gave Rs 20,000 for their burial. Capital City Police Haji Muhammad Aslam Tareen told reporters that a case has been registered and investigations begun. He blamed the rise in robberies in the city on what he called a ‘thin police force.’
He said it was nearly impossible for 26,000 cops to guard the city of more than 10 million people. On the occasion, the relatives of the deceased cops said they were proud of them because they sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Sources said police were still clueless about whether killers were robbers or terrorists.
Sources said police found empty bullets from a 9MM pistol and an SMG rifle on the crime scene. Sources also suspected old enmity to be the motive behind the killings.
