Millat Park murder suspects held, claims police

LAHORE

Police Wednesday claimed to have arrested a gang of four suspected robbers, including a woman in the murder of five people during a robbery in Millat Park two weeks ago. 

This was disclosed by CCPO Amin Wains during a press conference at Qila Gujjar Singh Police Lines. 

The arrested suspects were identified as Zaheer Abbass alias Bassu, Zahid Ali, Jahangir alias Bhaloo and Umm-e-Farwa. They were residents of Kot Sawar, Pindi Bhattian and belonged to Muslim Seikh Biradri. They were history sheeters and were involved in dozens of robbery bids in Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Sheikhupura. “Modus Operandi” of the suspects was to rent out a house in the city usually in slums. Their female partner would conduct reconnaissance of the area, spot a target, assess financial standing of the target and supply weapon to the place of the robbery bid, the CCPO said and added this was a new trend in which a woman was being used to supply weapon as it was easy for her to dodge police during checking at pickets. 

On November 19, two suspects entered Parwaz Paan Shop in Pakki Thathi. The shop had an arrangement for photocopy and money transfer. They made the victims hostage, looted the money and when they were leaving the shop a robber was caught by the victims, who opened firing to avoid arrest.

The other suspect hearing gun-shots also opened firing to release his accomplice. When they came out the shop, they kept on indiscriminate firing to make way for them. As a result, four victims inside the shop and two outside, one of them worked on a puncture shop and other was a passerby, received bullet injuries. In the bid, five people were killed.

It was a blind murder. The suspects were wearing masks. During resistance, mask of one suspect was removed. Police recorded accounts of eye-witnesses to ascertain their physical features and outlook. The investigation teams took 229 history sheeters of this outlook into custody and interrogated. The suspects were shortlisted to a dozen and at last reached the four members of the culprit gang involved in the heinous crime.

The eye-witnesses confirmed that the arrested suspects were the criminals involved in the crime. The role of the suspects in the bid collaborated with the accounts of eye-witnesses. Technical evidence that are pictures and forensic report of empties, total 10- four cartridges were collected from dead bodies, collected from crime scene also confirmed. Two pistols- 09 mm and 30 bore, were used in the crime. Police also recovered the weapons.

Police also took in custody three owners of the houses-Bilal Siddique, Adnan Shaukat and Muhammad Rizwan, who rented their house to the suspected criminals and did not register them with the police.

CCPO appreciated the efforts of the investigation teams. DIG Operations, Dr Haider Ashraf, SSP Investigations Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera, SP CRO Nadeem Abbass, SP Operations Iqbal Town, Adil Memon and SP Investigations Iqbal Town Madam Shaista Nadeem were present on the occasion.