SSP Aslam, Gabol face FIR over ‘extrajudicial killing’

Karachi
A sessions court on Monday ordered the registration of an FIR against Lyari MNA Nabeel Gabol and SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam over the killing of a man in an alleged fake encounter earlier this month if a cognizable offence was proved against them.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Razzaq exonerated Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik from the charges of being involved in the alleged extrajudicial killing of suspected gangster Saqib alias Sakhiullah.
The judge passed the order on an application filed under Section 22-A of the Criminal Procedure Code by Bilqees Bano, who claimed that her nephew, Saqib, was a law-abiding citizen and he was killed in a fake police encounter on April 1 at the behest of Interior Minister Malik, SSP Aslam and PPP MNA Gabol.
She submitted that on the day of the encounter, he nephew had left his house in the morning to buy breakfast when he was fatally shot from a close range by a police party being supervised by SSP Aslam. She further alleged that Gabol was also involved in the matter.
The police, however, rejected the charges of the extrajudicial killing. The SHO of the Chakiwara police station told the court that no fake encounter had taken place in his jurisdiction.
He stated that the police had rather tried to arrest some gangsters who were involved in heinous crimes and Saqib was also a known gangster. He submitted that when the police tried to arrest him, he opened fire on the police and it was not clear whether he was killed by the police or by his own accomplices in crossfire.
Disposing of the application, the court observed that the federal interior minister was duty-bound to take every legal step to ensure the implementation of law and order in the country, including Karachi; hence it was not fair to implicate him in such matters.
It directed the SHO to lodge a case against the other accused, including Aslam and Gabol, if sound proof was available against them. The court ordered the SHO to register the case after examining each and every legal aspect as well as considering the matter of jurisdiction.
The judge declared that no illegal activity or unlawful act on the part of any stakeholders would be allowed. The police were ordered not to deviate from the law and legal provisions in such matters.
Saqib’s killing in the controversial encounter sparked violent protests in the Lyari area, which left nine people dead, including a former Nazim of the PPP, and causing injuries to at least 28 others.
The situation in the area remained tense during the next two days after the incident as armed gangsters went on the rampage in major parts of Lyari. When a contingent of police was heading towards the troubled spots, some gangsters lobbed a hand grenade at a police mobile that left three cops and a passer-by injured. The violent incidents resulted in heavy damage to public and private properties during which the house of PPP leader Qasim Baloch in Baghdadi was also torched.