Second cop martyred in city in less than two weeks

Following the assassination of the Counter Terrorism Department’s DSP Ali Raza earlier this month, another policeman lost his life in an attack on him in the city on Friday.

Unidentified suspects fired shots at Police Constable Yousuf Hanif, 26, near Water Pump Chowrangi. Yousuf Plaza police officials and rescue workers took the victim to a private hospital, where the victim succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The deceased was then moved to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for an autopsy.

PC Hanif was posted at the Samanabad police station, where he was headed to submit his official weapon after completing his night duty when he was attacked. Police said when the victim reached near Water Pump Chowrangi, the suspects shot him in the chest and made off with his official submachine gun. Officials said they found three empty shells of a 30-bore pistol at the crime scene and sent them to the forensic division.

The victim had joined the police force around three years ago. He was a resident of Manghopir. His funeral prayers were offered at the Police Headquarters, Garden. This was the third incident in around a month and a half in which a policeman was martyred in the city. On June 3 PC Muhammad Yasin lost his life and PC Salman Abbas suffered injuries when unidentified suspects shot them near the Jamali Goth flyover in Sohrab Goth.

On July 7 DSP Raza was martyred by the firing of unidentified suspects near Karimabad. Cases of the Karimabad and Sohrab Goth attacks were registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act, while the case of the latest incident is yet to be registered.

Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon, Karachi police chief Javed Akhtar Odho, zonal and district police chiefs, Rangers officers, the victim’s relatives and friends, and the locals attended the funeral prayers.

Lanjar expressed his condolences and sympathies to the PC’s relatives, saying that the provincial government and the Sindh police department stand with them in these moments of grief. Paying tribute to the services of the martyred constable, he said that the sacrifices of the police martyrs for securing the lives and properties of people and establishing peace are priceless and unforgettable. On this occasion, the home minister issued special orders to the senior officers present there to provide the prevailing benefits to the heirs of the martyr.