‘Gangster’ killed, accomplice cop held

Karachi
A suspected Lyari-based gangster was shot dead in a shootout with police in Malir City on Tuesday and his two associates, one of them a police constable, were arrested.
The gangsters are believed to be involved in killing many people including policemen. The two arrested men will be sent to a military court for trial.
SSP Malir Rao Anwaar said police raided a gangsters’ hideout and in the ensuing encounter, injured Bilal alias Sham Janay. Two other gangsters constable Qaiser and Ayaz alias Baloch were arrested, but their two other associates managed to escape. Bilal was taken to the Jinnah hospital where he expired.
The SSP said Bilal was affiliated with the Akber Maliri gang. He was wanted in many target killing cases. He added that constable Qaiser was posted at the police’s special branch for the past 12 years and he too was associated with the Maliri gang. The official said the gangsters were planning to avenge Maliri’s death in a police encounter by killing cops. Constable Qaiser and Bilal had targeted head constable Malik Hafeez in Malir City and taken away his revolver.
Earlier on Maliri’s orders, Qaiser had targeted three policemen in Malir City and Model Colony including a traffic constable. The arrested cop admitted he was paid Rs30,000 for reconnaissance of policemen by Akber Maliri, who was shot dead on Sunday with his four accomplices. They worked for the Uzair Baloch group.
A Lyari-based gangster, Saddam Baloch, was arrested by police in Mochko after an encounter.

Vehicle snatcher shot dead
An alleged vehicle snatcher and also the prime suspect in the Inspector Zeeshan Kazmi murder case was gunned down in an encounter with the police’s Anti-Car Lifting Cell.
ACLC SSP Irfan Ali Bahadur said his cell’s team was snap checking vehicles near the Aziz Bhatti Park on University Road when they noticed some suspicious men in a car. When they signalled them to stop, the men in the car opened fire on the police. The cops fired back and injured one of the men, while the other two managed to flee.
The injured man was taken to the Jinnah hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as Sunharo Kanastru alias Manzoor Abro alias Faqeer. A 9mm pistol was found on him. The car, bearing number AZG-323, was found to be a stolen one.
The SSP said Kanastru was a member of an inter-provincial gang of vehicle lifters. He was wanted by police in over 60 cases of vehicle snatching.
He was also wanted for the murder of Inspector Zeeshan Kazmi and Pakistan People’s Party activist Munawar Suharwardi. He was earlier arrested for the inspector’s murder but released on bail.