Policeman martyred in gunfight with suspects in Nazimabad

A policeman, whose Rukhsati ceremony was scheduled to take place around a month later, embraced martyrdom on Thursday during a gunfight with three suspected criminals in Nazimabad. Two of the suspects were also killed.

Police said the alleged robbers were shot dead during an exchange of fire, but a video that went viral on social media showed that the injured suspects were finished off by a cop after the gunfight had ended.

The gun battle took place at around 6:45am near the Eidgah Ground in Nazimabad No. 3, which falls within the jurisdiction of the Nazimabad police station.

The officials said that during their routine patrol, police officials encountered three suspected criminals riding on two motorcycles as they were robbing a citizen near the Eidgah Ground. A constable was martyred and two of the suspects were severely injured in the ensuing gunfight.

A viral video showed that the two suspects were lying on the side of the road with critical wounds, while the martyred cop’s body was being placed in an ambulance. The video also showed another policeman shooting the suspects multiple times at close range to kill them off.

Officials said that three suspects were snatching a motorbike from a citizen when the patrolling police party arrived on the scene. They said that after the law enforcers reached the spot, the suspects opened fire on them.

Resultantly, one of the policemen riding a motorbike suffered a bullet to the chest and died shortly after the attack, while two of the suspects were severely injured in the gunfight, added the officials.

Police did not comment further on the incident or the viral video. Earlier in the day, District Central SSP Arif Aslam Rao told the media that the martyred policeman was identified as 26-year-old Syed Zeeshan Mian, son of Syed Athar Mian, and that the cop had been appointed in the Sindh police in 2014.

The constable was on routine patrol with his fellow policeman, namely Shahmir, to monitor the Nazimabad neighbourhood and prevent criminal activities, especially street crime, from being committed in the area.

The killed suspects were identified as Abdul Basit and Habib Khan, who belonged to the Khuzdar area of Balochistan. All the three bodies were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Police said that raids were being conducted to arrest the third suspect, adding that the killed suspects had belonged to a six-member gang known as ‘125’, which had been involved in various crimes, particularly in District Central.

The footage showed Shahmir finishing off the injured suspects and he was taken into custody after the video went viral on different social media websites.

Zeeshan’s Nikah ceremony had already taken place and his Rukhsati programme was to be held sometime next month. “Zeeshan was my nephew as well as my son-in-law,” Shahmir’s mother told the media. “Shahmir was on duty with Zeeshan when the tragedy occurred.”

She said that Shahmir shot the criminals dead after they had killed Zeeshan, adding that the police had arrested Shahmir. She appealed to the senior officials for justice, saying that her son had not killed innocent people but criminals.

Zeeshan’s funeral prayers were offered at the police headquarters in the Garden area. Besides his family members and relatives, the funeral was also attended by a large number of officials of the police and Rangers, including Pakistan Rangers Sindh Director General Maj Gen Omar Ahmed Bukhari and Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon, who also paid tribute to the sacrifice of the policeman.