Two cops sent on five-day remand for killing citizen on II Chundrigar Road

A judicial magistrate on Saturday remanded two police personnel for allegedly killing one citizen and injuring another mistaking them to be robbers.

The District South magistrate sent police constables Imran Habib and Imran Sarfaraz on physical remand for five days and sought a progress report from the investigation officer on the next hearing.

A man, Muhammad Aslam, lost his life and Waqar was wounded when the cops senselessly shot them after assuming that they were robbers on II Chundrigar Road on Friday morning.

The deceased was a passer-by and the injured man was one of the two men whom cops mistook 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 also confiscated. "Waqar was driving his motorcycle, with me riding pillion,” said Waqar’s friend Noman. “Policemen standing next to a parked mobile shot 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 them without giving any warning. No weapon was found on the injured.

Noman too said he had raised his hands and shouted “we are not criminals”.

After the shooting, he said, the cops escaped, abandoning the police mobile. The body and the injured were taken to Civil Hospital Karachi. Later, a heavy contingent of law enforcers visited the crime scene and launched investigations.

District City SSP Muqaddas Haider has been appointed as the inquiry officer. The CM sought a detailed report from Sindh police chief Mushtaq Maher over the incident and warned him that such incidents would 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.

The sections 302 (premeditated murder) and 324 (attempt to murder) of the Pakistan Penal Code have been cited in the FIR No 287/20 registered at the Mithadar police station.