District Korangi SSP Ali Raza on Monday sent two policemen to quarter guard (placed in police detention) after a couple was wounded during an alleged crossfire between police and suspected robbers.
The couple, 40-year-old Adnan and 30-year-old Saqiba, had suffered bullet wounds under mysterious circumstances within the limits of Awami Colony police station on Sunday night.
They were taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre immediately after the incident and their condition is said to be stable now. “They are gradually getting better. There is a massive change in their conditions as compared to when they were brought to the hospital,” JPMC Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali told The News on Monday. “It was a challenge for doctors to the save the woman, who is eight months pregnant. But thank God, she and the baby are both safe now.”
According to Dr Jamali, the bullets are still stuck in the bodies of both victims and the doctors would decide if it is better to remove them or let them stay in. She said the pair was stable and would be discharged soon.
Although the exact circumstances of how the incident occurred still remain unclear, Korangi SSP Ali Raza has placed two cops of Awami Colony police station, Zahir Shah and Abdul Majeed, into police custody.
Raza said that the initial investigations suggest that an exchange of fire between cops and suspected robbers occurred when the suspects riding a motorcycle were trying to escape after snatching a rifle from a policeman in the area. “The couple was shot and injured when they were moving to get in a car outside their home,” the officer explained.
He further said that he had met the couple and they were fine now. “I have also recorded their statement and assured them that I am here to register a case against the cops if they want to lodge it,” Raza said.
According to the officer, it seems that the couple was shot during the exchange of fire, but it has yet to be ascertained whether it was the police’s bullets or the suspects’ bullets that injured them.
“We could register a case against the cops on behalf of state but it would give the impression that we are trying to save our Jawans,” he said. “We have asked the couple for the registration of the case.”
The officer further said that initially a departmental inquiry has been initiated against both the cops, Zahir Shah and Abdul Majeed, for being negligent on duty as in their statements they had claimed that suspected robbers had snatched a rifle gun from them.