Police showed negligence in Perween Rahman assassination case, admits IG Sindh

KARACHI: Inspector-General Police Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon regretted on Sunday that the police showed negligence in the Perween Rahman assassination case.

Rahman, a renowned urban planner and director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was murdered in a drive-by shooting on her car at the Banaras flyover a few minutes after she left her office for home on March 13, 2013. She was killed as a result of a land dispute.

Speaking with Geo News in an interview, the IG said: "In the Perween Rahman murder case, there was negligence by the police. We are going to appeal against the decision."

IG Nabi said that the police was trying to remove "defects from the investigation system" and also attempting to make appointments in every department on a permanent basis.

Last week, the Sindh High Court nullified the life-imprisonment sentences, handed over to the accused individuals for Rahman's murder by the anti-terrorism court (ATC), following insufficient evidence.

Following the court's verdict, Rahman's family decided to appeal against the acquittal of five accused men in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Memon also spoke about the recent incident in Karachi where a policeman was gunned down by a citizen who, after fleeing to Sweden, released a video and said that he shot in an act of "self-defence".

"The incident of the policeman's killing in Defence [Housing Authority Phase 5] is also an issue of police training. Work on the e-tagging of suspects is complete from our side. Now, the matter is with the cabinet's sub-committee," the IG Sindh said adding that e-tagging will help keep an eye on suspects.

Memon further spoke about the Safe City Project in Karachi and said that authority has been established for the project. "Work is in progress to make a prototype in the project's first phase."

He added that high-resolution cameras will also be installed across all toll plazas in the province for which work is underway.

"Uninterrupted power supply is essential for these cameras to functional for which work is going on," IG Sindh said in the interview.