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Tuesday March 19, 2024

Constable Irfan’s alleged murderers held in raid: police

By Our Correspondent
January 20, 2020

Police on Sunday claimed to have arrested four suspects allegedly involved in the murder of constable Irfan Khan in the New Karachi Industrial Area (NKIA).

The District Central police said the suspects were apprehended after a tip-off to an investigation team. A raid was subsequently conducted at a residence in New Karachi area, the police said, adding that the arrested suspects were identified as Nadir Shah, Fahad, Arman and Raju.

The police said they had seized two pistols including the murder weapon from their possession. Two stolen motorcycles and as many snatched cell phones were also found on them, the police added.

During an interrogation, the police claimed, the arrested suspected had confessed to killing police constable Irfan Khan on the night of January 14. On Tuesday night, the suspects were heading towards the Eidgah Ground in Sector-5F of New Karachi where they were supposed to distribute among themselves some looted money, the police said.

However, the police said, the accused persons encountered with a police team following which a shootout ensued. Twenty-three-year-old Irfan, who was posted at the NKIA police station, was wounded during the exchange of fire with the suspected criminals. He was taken to a private hospital located on National Stadium Road, but he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

The police had said the shootout took place after policemen patrolling on a motorbike tried to the suspects. However, instead of stopping, the suspects opened fire on the officials and sped away.

Resultantly, Irfan suffered critical wounds and later succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The funeral prayers for the constable were offered at the police headquarters in the Garden area on Wednesday.

The funeral was attended by the cop’s family, relatives a large number of senior police officers, including Sindh police chief Dr Syed Kaleem Imam and Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon.

A case was subsequently registered against the unidentified suspects. IGP Imam had also taken notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the District Central SSP. According to the District Central, the arrested suspects are “habitual criminals who are wanted to different police stations of Karachi in heinous crimes”.

Previous attacks

A day before the murder of Khan, another police constable and a suspect lost their lives during a shootout between law enforcers and alleged muggers in a locality of Baldia Town.

District West SSP Fida Hussain Janwari had said the Ittehad Town police received information that armed muggers were robbing people near the Muhammad Khan Chowki area on Monday.

He had said police vans were immediately dispatched to the scene, but as the suspects saw the law enforcers approaching, they opened fire and a shootout between the two parties ensued. The suspects sped towards the Tori Bangash area to avoid arrest, and as the police pursued them, Constable Abdur Rehman suffered injuries during the crossfire, the officer had added.

The SSP had said that after the shootout, the police arrested one of the suspects in an injured condition, while his alleged accomplices managed to escape from the scene. Both the wounded men were rushed to the hospital, but they were pronounced dead on arrival, he had added.

Around a dozen policemen had lost their lives in targeted attacks in the city the previous year. The victims included an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and 10 constables.

One law enforcer was martyred in January, two in February, four in March, one in April, two in June and one in September, according to reports published in newspapers.

Traffic police warden Ehtisham was martyred in Soldier Bazaar on January 21. Policeman Farooq lost his life in Pak Colony on February 13. Former policeman Shafqat was attacked in Orangi Town on February 14.

PC Jahangir was martyred in Hijrat Colony on March 2. ASI Rizwan lost his life in the Iqbal Market area of Orangi Town on March 4. Also in Orangi Town’s Iqbal Market area, policeman Habibullah was attacked on March 9. Policeman Farooq was martyred near Nipa Chowrangi on March 22. PC Khalid lost his life in the Defence Housing Authority on April 7.

Constables Allah Dino and Ahmed Ali were attacked in the Mominabad area of Orangi Town on June 17. Constable Syed Zeeshan Mian, 26, whose Rukhsati ceremony was scheduled to take place around a month later, embraced martyrdom on September 19 during a gunfight with three suspected criminals in Nazimabad.