One dead, another injured as police ‘mistake’ citizens as robbers

A man lost his life and another was injured when cops senselessly shot at citizens for "assuming them to be robbers" on II Chundrigar Road on Friday morning.

The deceased was a passer-by and the injured was of the two men whom cops “misunderstood as robbers”, said the Mithadar police.The tragic incident prompted the authorities, including the Sindh chief minister, to take action and subsequently three cops of the Madadgar 15 were arrested. Weapons used by the personnel were confiscated.The police identified the deceased as 48-year-old Muhammad Aslam, son of Jamaluddin, while the injured as Waqar.“Waqar was driving his motorcycle, with me riding pillion,” said Waqar’s friend Noman. “Policemen standing next to a parked mobile shot at us when I took out my cell phone. As a result, my friend was wounded and a passer-by was killed.”

According to witness accounts, the victims had raised their hands after seeing the cops, but the policemen still shot at them without giving any warning. No weapon was found on the injured.

Noman too said he had raised his hands and shouted that “we are not criminals”. After the shooting, he said, the cops escaped, abandoning the police mobile. The body and the injured were taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi. Later, a heavy contingent of the law enforcers attended the crime scene and launched investigations.

The south zone’s deputy inspector general of police (DIGP) identified the arrested policemen as Imran Habib, Imran and Sarfaraz. One of them is a mobile driver.

The DIGP said the arrested cops told the police that they opened fire over “a misunderstanding and assuming that a robbery was underway”. District City SSP Muqaddas Haider has been appointed the inquiry officer.

The chief minister sought a detailed report from Sindh police chief Mushtaq Maher over the incident and warned him that “such incidents will not be tolerated”. A video filmed by a citizen after the firing incident purportedly shows police personnel carrying weapons and a frightened citizen standing with his hands up.

A case was registered against the three policemen of the Mithadar Madadgar 15 on the request of Waqar. Sections of murder and attempt to murder have been placed in the FIR No 287/20 registered at the Mithadar police station.

In the past, many precious lives have been lost due to the senseless acts of policemen. Only in 2018 and 2019, six people were gunned down by police personnel in incidents of criminal negligence.

On January 3, 2018, a man, named Intezar Ahmed, was shot dead by ACLC personnel. Seven days after the incident (on January 20), another man, namely Maqsood, was shot dead by police when he was travelling in a rickshaw on Faisal Street. On August 3, 10-year-old Amal Umar, who was sitting in a car with her parents, was shot dead by police near Akhtar Colony.

On February 23, 2019, Nimra Baig, a medical student, was shot dead by police in North Karachi. On April 6 last year, Sajjad, a 10-year-old boy, was shot dead by police in Quaidabad.

Ten days later (on April 16), months-old Ahsan Sheikh was killed by police firing near Safora Chowrangi.