Cop killer gunned down during CTD’s raid in Pehlwan Goth

The Counter Terrorism Department’s (CTD) Civil Lines officials carried out a successful raid on Pehlwan Goth in the wee hours of Thursday, during which they gunned down Naveed Khan, who had allegedly murdered 50-year-old ASI Ghulam Muhammad in Lines Area on July 23.

CTD Karachi chief DIG Omar Shahid Hamid said that in view of the recent wave of attacks on law enforcers in the city, officials, especially Raja Umer Khattab, chief of the department’s Transnational Terrorists Intelligence Group, were tasked with dismantling the network of terrorists behind the murders.

Khattab said that in the wee hours they received information about target killers’ presence in Pehlwan Goth, following which they carried out a raid on the area. He said that on seeing the police, the suspects opened fire on the officials, who retaliated and arrested a suspect in an injured condition after a shoot-out. However, he added, the suspects’ accomplices managed to escape.

Khattab said the injured was taken to a hospital, but he was pronounced dead on arrival, adding that the suspect was identified as Naveed Khan (alias Nauman, alias Nomi). He said they found a pistol belonging to the slain ASI as well as a 30-bore pistol in the suspect’s possession and sent them to the forensic laboratory.

According to the CTD, Khan belonged to the Mudassir Chief gang of criminals based in Pehlwan Goth that comprises Mudassir Chief, Riaz Mama, Atif, Adil, Irfan Manu, Shani, Junaid, Shahid Shah and other criminals.

The department said the deceased suspect was born in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar neighbourhood and was believed to have been involved in target killings and incidents of street crime, while he had got married thrice, with two of his wives also having criminal backgrounds as they belonged to gangs of robbers.

The CTD said that an aunt of the deceased, namely Nusrat Chaudhry, had been a notorious criminal who also led a gang of robbers, but Khan shot his aunt dead in the ASF ground in 2005 on the suspicion that she had planned to get him arrested.

The department said Khan belonged to a criminal family: his mother got married four times and her last husband Sagheer, alias Goga, was also involved in street crime along with Khan. The CTD said the deceased had been arrested in 2006 along with his brother Sohail, while his in-laws live in Lines Area.

Intelligence sources said Khan had quarrelled with the ASI on July 23 after their motorbikes rammed into each other while the suspect and his accomplice were on their way to commit a crime.

After the quarrel, said the sources, the suspect followed the police officer and then murdered him. At that time, added the sources, the suspects had been renting a house in Lines Area. Investigations show the suspect was involved in politically motivated killings since 2005, including murders of Muttahida Qaumi Movement workers and supporters, while he also targeted police constable Saleem in Mobina Town police jurisdiction as well as a policeman and his friend in the Khawaja Ajmair Nagri area in 2006.

The suspect is believed to have murdered 11 people in targeted attacks and to have been involved in more than 200 cases of street crime since 2017.