Hayatabad raid: Unprofessional approach by seniors blamed for two cops deaths

PESHAWAR: Unprofessional approach by the police during a raid in Hayatabad resulted in the death of two young cops allegedly at the hands of a student in Hayatabad the other night.

An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Mohammad Riaz and constable Jaffar Ali were martyred when a local opened fire on the police party during a raid in Phase-7 of the posh Hayatabad town. The official said the accused, who had allegedly opened fire, was identified as Hamza, a resident of Bannu, and was arrested allegedly along with the automatic weapon.

He was presented before a local court on Thursday where he was remanded in police custody for three days. The family of Hamza asked the government and the relevant bosses to investigate the matter.

They said Hamza had opened fire only in self-defence as the family had enmity and he thought it was a trap by the rivals who had killed two of their family members a few months back. The brothers and other family members of the accused said Hamza was an educated young man like his other siblings while the entire family had nothing to do with any crime.

They said the matter needed to be investigated through CCTV footage and other evidence that would prove Hamza had opened the fire in self-defence mistaking those breaking into the house for enemies.

On the other hand, two innocent policemen from other police stations lost lives only because of poor handling of the case by the seniors. Many were questioning whether the families of the martyrs would be provided Shaheed Package like other cops. A senior police official said the cops laid down their lives in the line of duty and they will get the Shaheed Package. He said the cops had conducted the raid after receiving a tip-off about the presence of an accused.

The official insisted that the cops had properly registered the entry and other details of the raid in the respective police station while they were uninformed while carrying out the raid. The official said one cop was even shot outside the house. He added the cops had found 16 empties from the spot.