KARACHI, Jan 4: An inquiry into the killing of four young men from Balochistan by a team of the Anti-Car Lifting Cell in an alleged shootout has established that the incident was the “outcome of criminal negligence” of the police party.

The victims were killed a little after midnight on Dec 31 by the ACLC team, who claimed that they fired on the victims’ car in self-defence.

However, the inquiry report disclosed that the police party exceeded the power of self-defence as laid down under the law.

The inquiry report, submitted to the police high-ups by the SP investigation, Niaz Ahmed Khoso, stated that a case on the complaint of the victims’ relatives be lodged against the ACLC men, who killed the four persons in an alleged encounter, for investigation to find the truth.

The capital city police chief, Wasim Ahmed, told Dawn that he had spoken to the victims’ relatives in Balochistan and asked them to lodge an FIR. “I asked them to fax their statement that would be converted into an FIR,” he added.

The CCPO said his counterpart in Quetta had also visited the victims’ families to offer condolence on behalf of the Karachi police.

He said the inquiry report suggested that there was no mala fide intent on part of the police party. “The inquiry report is not conclusive and proper investigation will be initiated once the victims’ relatives lodge the case,” he added

The city police chief had suspended members of the team, including the ACLC’s station house officer, and ordered an inquiry under the supervision of the DIG (investigation) after the incident was reported in the media.

The ACLC team had opened fire on the youths’ car with automatic weapons near Tawakkal Motors on Khalid bin Walid Road at around 12.40am. Two occupants of the car were killed instantly and two others, who were fatally wounded, died at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

According to sources at the hospital’s medico-legal section, three of the four victims received four bullets each and the fourth one was shot thrice.

The Anti-Car Lifting Cell team claimed that the occupants of the car had fired on them and they returned fire in self-defence.

The ACLC men had opened fire on the car by mistake when they and a team of the Boat Basin police were looking for a black Corolla of the latest model hijacked near the Bilawal Chowrangi in Clifton an hour before the shooting.

The sources said the victims, one of whom was related to Tawwakal Motors’ owner, sped the car to reach the showroom on Khalid bin Walid Road, where the alleged shootout took place.