After Amal Umer, the 10-year-old girl who died after being hit by a stray bullet during a police encounter on August 13 last year, another passer-by girl lost her life during a police shootout with suspected robbers in the city late on Friday night.
The victim was a 20-year-old final year medical student, Nimra, who was travelling in a rickshaw when she received a bullet in her head as police and robbers were engaged in an exchange of fire on a crowded thoroughfare near Anda Morr in North Karachi, within the limits of the Sir Syed police station.
The victim’s family has claimed that the girl was killed by the police firing and demanded a fair investigation into the incident. “By which bullet she was killed? We should be informed,” says victim’s maternal uncle, Zaki Khan. “No one was there to help my niece. Even with critical head injuries, she was taken to hospital on a rickshaw.”
The family wants the authorities to carry out investigations from different angles and answer them why the police personnel opened fire instead of chasing and arresting the street criminals in the public place, by whose bullet the girl died and why doctors at Abbassi Shaheed Hospital referred her to Jinnah hospital instead of providing timely treatment to her.
Police version
Explaining the incident, police officials said Nimra was shot during an exchange of fire between the police and robbers. They, however, claimed that she was shot by the robbers.
“Personnel of the Sharae Noor Jahan police station were chasing robbers when the encounter took place at Anda Morr within the limits of the Sir Syed police station, in which one robber, namely Riaz, 25, son of Abdul Malik, was killed and another robber was injured while a passer-by lady, namely Nimra, daughter of Ejaz Baig, was injured by the firing of robbers,” said Sharae Noor Jahan SHO Rao Zahir.
The officer added that the police team involved in the incident comprised four policemen who were patrolling on motorcycles. As they became suspicious of four suspects riding on two motorcycles, they started to chase them, he explained, adding that the suspects tried to flee and when they reached the Anda Morr area, they opened fire on the chasing policemen.
“Do you expect from the police that they should remain unarmed even when the criminals are firing at them,” SHO Zahir questioned. “It was a genuine encounter and policemen tried to save the public but unluckily the passerby was killed by robbers’ firing.”
The officer said one of the robbers was killed, another arrested in an injured state while two others managed to flee under the cover of fire.
Inquiry team
Police high-ups on Saturday formed an inquiry team to investigate the killing of the young female medical student.
The inquiry team comprises two deputy inspector generals (DIGs), Criminal Investigation Agency DIG Arif Hanif and Zone West DIG Amin Yousufzai, and two senior superintendents of police (SSPs), Noman Ahmed Siddiqui and Samiullah Soomro.
The team also visited the crime scene to collect evidence. “The inquiry team has recorded statements of the eyewitnesses,” said a spokesperson for the Karachi police. “The team members also visited the victim’s house and while offering condolences, they assured the family of their full cooperation.”
The spokesperson added that the victim girl, who was a final year student at the Dow University of Health Sciences, belonged to a family of policemen as his father and grandfather had served in the police department.
According to the spokesperson, the inquiry team also recorded statements of Nimra’s family members, including her maternal uncle.
The team has been tasked with submitting a report within three days to Additional IG Karachi Dr Amir Shaikh after ascertaining the facts regarding the incident in the Anda Morr area.
Funeral prayers for the deceased medical student were offered on Saturday near her home. A large number of people attended the funeral prayers and protested against the incident.
The post-mortem of the victim was conducted at JPMC. “The victim received a 2.5cm wound from the bullet on the right side of her head which went through after breaking the bone,” Medico-Legal Officer Dr Zakia told The News. “The 2.5cm wound suggests that she received a bullet from a small weapon.”
JPMC Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali said Nimra was initially taken to Abbassi Shaheed Hospital, which referred her to the JPMC for a better treatment where she died soon after her arrival.
“Her skull was fractured and her head was bleeding badly,” Dr Jamali explained. “There was no hope but we immediately shifted her to ventilator but she could not survive.”
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah also took notice of the incident and sought a report from the additional IG Karachi.