Suspected killers of Major Saqib Iqbal arrested in raid

The East Range police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested two men who allegedly murdered Major Saqib Iqbal during a mugging bid in the month of Ramazan.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Amir Farooqi disclosed at a media briefing the arrests of the suspects, who allegedly shot dead the Pakistan Army officer a day before the Eidul Fitr on June 6, 2019, on MA Jinnah Road in the Arambagh police remit.

An FIR was lodged and investigations were entrusted to various units and departments of the Sindh Police. It was a difficult case and took time to get resolved, DIG Farooqi said and added that they had gathered footage from several CCTV cameras from various circles, including the Command and Control Centre of the Sindh Police, and thoroughly inspected each piece of the footage.

The investigators learnt that the muggers had come from the side of a Dilpasand shop on MA Jinnah Road and stopped their motorcycle a few yards away from Major Iqbal near a UBL ATM outlet. Then, one of the suspects wearing a black dress came to loot the major, who resisted and attempted to overpower him. The robber shot and killed him before the two fled on a motorcycle.

The CCTV footage shows them driving towards the Tower area where they disappeared. DIG Farooqi said the investigators further checked the availability of CCTV cameras and found footage of a camera that helped identify the man who had shot Major Iqbal as well as the accomplice.

The investigators used technical support to trace two cellphone numbers who were registered in the names of Muhammad Nauman and Umer Farooq. They later managed to get the location of the two in the SITE Super Highway area.

An East Range police carried out a raid and after facing resistance arrested Nauman and Farooq. The suspects were taken to the Investigation Unit, where they admitted murdering Major Iqbal.

DIG Farooqi said that Nauman had fired upon Major Iqbal and Farooq was driving the

motorcycle. Nauman also admitted to making two to three street crime attempts a few years ago but managed to avoid arrest. The suspects were formerly associated with an organisation at the Karachi Port Trust.

KPT disowns suspects

The Karachi Port Trust issued a statement in which it said Nauman and Farooq were not KPT employees. Nauman is an employee of a private civilian contractor firm working at the port, and Farooq works in the Karachi Dock Labour Board.

Rangers arrest 13

The paramilitary force arrested 13 more suspected criminals, including robbers, in

the city. The spokesman for the Sindh Rangers said soldiers conducted raids in Paposh Nagar, Shah Faisal Colony, Sharifabad, Ittehad Town, Mauripur and Nabi Bux and arrested 10 men, identified as Salahuddin, Habib, Sarfaraz, Muhammad Hassan Raza, Muhammad Mutahir, Yasir, Nadeem, Muhammad Farhad, Faisal and Sadaqat Ali.

The suspects were alleged to be involved in drug peddling, street crime and other robberies. In Ittehad Town, Muhammad Zubair, who had been absconding in several heinous crimes’ cases, was captured. Soldiers also conducted a raid in Baloch Colony and arrested Syed Muhammad Usman and Muhammad Aslam, who were allegedly running a drug den. Weapons, looted items and narcotics were seized from the possession of the suspects, who were later handed over to police for further legal action.