MINGORA: A police official was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Shahdara area here on Tuesday. The victim was identified as Shangla DSP (legal) Muhammad Ilyas.

According to Mingora police, Mr Ilyas was currently undertaking a course at the Swat Police Training Centre.

“He was in plain clothes and had stopped to purchase fruit from a vendor on the way to a relative’s house in the area when the assailants opened indiscriminate fire at him, killing him on the spot,” said Mingora police station SHO Akhtar Ayoub.

He added that one of his guards was also injured in the incident and was rushed to Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital. The attackers managed to escape after the incident.

According to the hospital’s staff, the deceased received three bullets in the head, neck and shoulder.

Soon after the incident, a large number of police and law enforcement officials reached the site and started a search operation to apprehend the attackers.

This is the second incident of targetted killing in three days. On April 10, unknown gunmen shot dead ANP leader Syed Jamshaid Ali in Manglore area.

The latest surge in violence in Swat has sparked a wave of fear and panic among local residents. They questioned the presence of law enforcers in the area and demanded the government to take effective security measures to stop the growing incidents of targetted killings.

Our correspondent in Shangla adds: The body of slain DSP Muhammad Ilyas was brought to Shangla where he was buried at his ancestral graveyard in Lelawnai village of tehsil Alpuri.

Shangla DPO Rahatullah, Deputy Commissioner Dildar Ahmed and a large number of local political leaders, civil society members, government functionaries, friends and well-wishers attended the funeral prayers.

The slain DSP was the son of local journalist Muhammad Younas. He leaves behind a widow.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2016