Military Police attack case: Suspect’s sketch issued

Police announce Rs10m for info about attackers

Karachi

Police issued on Tuesday the sketch of one of the two men involved in the attack in the Preedy area on December 1 wherein two Military Police officers were killed, and also announced a reward of Rs10 million for information that could lead to their arrest.

The second attacker was wearing a helmet

DIG South Jamil Ahmed, who is heading the inquiry, issued the sketch after the investigation team gathered witnesses’ statements and the available CCTV footage.

The DIG told The News that the sketch was prepared after the probing team members had talked to the witnesses and personally inspected the crime scene. He added that the team had also gone through the CCTV footage collected from cameras installed on New MA Jinnah Road, which passes through Lines Area.

The attackers, after the commission of the offence, headed towards Guru Mandir and later to a slum. “The CCTV footages have helped us prepare the attackers’ sketch,” the DIG said.

The official said there were reports of the presence of a banned outfit’s militants in the slum where the terrorists had went and raids were being conducted there.

After the attack on the Military Police officers, an FIR was also lodged at the Preedy police station under the sections of murder and Section 7 of the ATA.

To investigate the case, a team was formed under the supervision of the DIG South as its chairman. The other members include DIG Abdullah Shaikh of the Crime Investigation Agency Karachi, SSP Mohammed Farooq of the South district, SSP Ghulam Azfar Mahesar of the West district, SSP Faizullah Karejo of the Investigation-I, South, SSP Naveed Ahmed Khawaja of the counter-terrorism department investigation wing, SSP Farooq Awan of the SIU Karachi and sub-divisional police officer Saeed Rind.

Earlier Raja Umer Khattab, the in-charge of the transnational intelligence group of counter terrorism department, said the attack was the third of its kind, as earlier two similar attacks were carried out at the same place by members of a banned outfit.

The first attack was carried out on a Preedy police mobile in which terrorists lobbed a chemical bomb, killing three cops.

A few months later, three policemen were killed at the same place.

Khattab said it seemed terrorists had reconnoitered the place which law-enforcers usually visited for the repair of official vehicles. This time, he said, terrorists went for a soft target and killed two MP soldiers. He added that they had arrested terrorists of the al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent who were involved in the Safoora bus attack and had confessed to targeting police in Preedy.

“It seems that the remaining associates of the arrested terrorists are behind the attack on the MP soldiers.”