Suspect involved in attack on traffic policeman arrested

KARACHI: Police arrested a suspect involved in a drive by shooting on a traffic policeman in the financial hub of Pakistan.

According to the preliminary investigation report, Bilal, 24, a resident of New Karachi, was taken into custody from the Civil Hospital Karachi. The accused was being treated at the hospital for a bullet wound on his face which he sustained during the attack on traffic policemen near Board Office in North Nazimabad.

The report claimed the suspect fired shots at a traffic policeman identified as Juman, who was deputed at the Matric Board Office using a 30-bore pistol, injuring the officer on Tuesday.

However, the attacker received a flesh wound on his face when the policeman fired back.

Leaving his motorcycle near the crime scene, the suspect tried to get a lift and upon failing got on a bus and disembarked at Nagan Chowrangi where his accomplices were waiting who shifted him to Gurudmandir.

The report adds that the injured suspect was shifted to the Civil Hospital through an ambulance service. The ambulance was arranged on the pretext that the man was injured for resisting during an armed robbery.

Following protocol, the Civil Hospital informed the police control room about the arrival of an injured man. Suspicions arose and the police force immediately reached the medical facility and took the accused into custody.

Eye-witnesses and the injured policeman identified the injured man as the shooter, after which he was shifted to an undisclosed location. Additionally upon tracking the suspect’s mobile phone location, it was confirmed that he was present in the vicinity of the Board Office at the time of the attack.

This was the fifth attack on the traffic police department. In previous attacks 5 traffic policemen lost their lives while 6 others were been injured. The modus operandi in the attacks has remained the same; attackers on motorcycles opened fire upon policemen deployed in Saddar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Mai Kolachi, Nazimabad and Sher Shah.