KARACHI, Jan 16: Contrary to police claims that the suspects involved in Thursday’s shoot-out at the Mohmand building in Sohrab Goth were pro-Taliban elements, police officials are said to have identified one of the suspects fleeing the scene as the brother of a police officer.

Two policemen laid down their lives as they rushed into a hail of bullets fired by suspects who had allegedly held three law-enforcers hostage in the small hours of Thursday.

“They may be pro-Taliban, but there is no evidence that they were jihadis. In fact, a fleeing suspect was identified by police as Sherzaman, who is a brother of Azam Mehsud, station house officer of Peerabad police station,” disclosed a senior police officer privy to the investigations.

“The accused Sherzaman is already wanted in the murder case of a policeman in Gadap Town,” the officer said, adding that he has a criminal background and patronises most of the criminal activities, including kidnapping for ransom, along the Super Highway and different parts of the city.

The accused was spotted by many policemen fleeing the crime scene clad in a white shalwar kameez and a cap, sources said.

The Anti-Violent Crime Unit (AVCU) had received a tip-off regarding some high-value hostage being held by the suspects, after which they chose to advance.

The six suspects who had taken the police and intelligence officers, including SSP Farooq Awan, hostage at gunpoint did not open a random burst of AK-47 fire at the officers, but shot them individually after taking away their cellphones and weapons, sources told Dawn. In fact, the shooting pattern showed that they didn’t aim at the vital organs of the officers.

The police and intelligence officers had gone close to the Mohmand building, leaving the rest of the force 100 metres behind to pinpoint the location of the cellphone with the help of equipment they had, when they were taken hostage by the suspects.

Before the shoot-out, the suspects had interviewed the officers, establishing their identities after depriving them of their cellphones and weapons.

Well-placed sources said that Head Constable Fayyaz and Constable Akhtar Muneer, who were killed in the firing, were driving the police mobile which had attempted to charge at the building, but was neutralised by the gunfire coming from the rooftop of the Mohmand building. They suffered multiple bullet wounds in the head and chest, causing instant death.

The police did manage to get their hands on some pistols and AK-47 rifles from the Mohmand building, but the recovery of a few weapons from the Sohrab Goth area could not be described as a true achievement of the law-enforcement agencies, an official remarked.

Sources said that six suspects were on the ground while 10 of their accomplices had taken positions on the rooftops. All of them managed to flee without suffering a single gunshot wound.

The question arises whether the police force was even able to fire a single shot at the suspects. By the time the police mobiles, which were stationed 100 metres away from the scene, reached the spot, all the suspects had fled.

Since the police force started the rescue operation for the injured officers, they were not able to attempt pursuit of the suspects, the sources said.

As all the suspects had fled, the detention of as many as 79 ‘suspects’ from the neighbourhood appears to be an attempt to cover up the incompetence of the police unit, the sources said.

FIR

An FIR (37/2009) was registered at the Sohrab Goth police station under Sections 302, 324, 353 and 427/34 read with Section 7 of the ATA. The FIR was registered on the complaint of the AVCU.

Sohrab Goth Supervisory Police Officer Irfan Bahadur declined to disclose the contents of the FIR saying: “The FIR has been sealed and we have strict orders not to disclose the contents of the FIR,” DSP Bahadur said.

When asked if Thursday’s shoot-out was an operational or planning failure, Capital City Police Officer Waseem Ahmed rejected the impression saying that it was an example of pro-active policing. “We had no defective planning. We were not fighting against conventional criminals. They were ready to die,” Mr Ahmed said. “On an average, 50 policemen die every year. They put their lives at risk in the (line of duty),” the city police chief remarked. “Today they are on the run, yesterday they were sitting and planning,” the CCPO added, referring to the suspects.

Responding to a question about suspect Sherzaman, the CCPO said that his brother – the SHO Peerabad – has been removed from the post.