No major headway in Maulana Adil Khan’s murder case: report

KARACHI: The police investigators remained clueless about the perpetrators of the high profile targeted killing of a prominent religious scholar Maulana Adil Khan, who along with his driver was shot dead in Karachi on Saturday.

According to a news report published in The News on Monday, police investigators obtained a forensic report suggesting that the murder weapon in Maulana Adil’s case had not been used in any previous target killing in the metropolis.

Moreover, forensic experts thoroughly examined the spent bullet shells of a 9mm pistol found at the crime scene and also the deceased’s Maulana Adil’s vehicle to find any other clue related to the case.

Police investigators also visited Darul Uloom Karachi from where they obtained the CCTV footage and recorded the statements of the witnesses of the case.

“Maulana Sahib had arrived at Darul Uloom before the Maghrib prayers where he also met with Mufti Taqi Usmani Sahib before leaving after the Maghrib prayers at around 7pm,” Darul Uloom’s security guard, Shafiullah told the investigators.

Read more: CCTV footage shows Maulana Adil's car being followed by a suspect

“At the gate of the Darul Uloom, the driver slowed down the vehicle and Mufti Adil Sahib put his head down to say Salam to me while he was leaving.”

Along with the CCTV footage, police investigators have also recorded the statements of witnesses in the case, appealing to eyewitnesses to come forward and record their statements regarding the incident, assuring them that their names will be kept confidential.

The investigators conducted geo-fencing of the site where Maulana Adil was shot dead and have also recorded the statements of the people whose shops were adjacent to the crime scene stating that they had separately recorded their statements and it could be helpful in the case.

Case not registered

Though a case is yet to be registered, the police said that it would be filed under the Anti-terrorism Act on behalf of Maulana Adil’s son who survived in the attack while the Counter-Terrorism Department’s (CTD) officials will probe the case.

The CTD’s in-charge Raja Umar Khattab said that the CTD was investigating the case of Maulana Adil from different angles and nothing could be ruled out.

Prominent religious scholar Maulana Adil Khan, along with his driver, was shot dead on Saturday in Karachi's Shah Faisal area, with Prime Minister Imran Khan chalking it up as "an attempt by India to create sectarian conflict across the country".