Main accused still at large in Shahzeb murder case

Karachi

In what appears to be an attempt to delay concrete action against influential families but still have something to show so as to escape criticism, police on Wednesday arrested nine men in the Shahzeb Khan murder case; however, none of them were the two main suspects.

Eight of those arrested belong to the family of one of the main suspects, Shahrukh Jatoi, son of Sikandar Jatoi.

The outrage over the murder of 20-year-old Khan in DHA Phase V on December 25 allegedly by two men belonging to influential and politically-connected families has prompted the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of the incident.

The apex court has summoned the province’s top legal officer and the police chief to explain whether or not the authorities have showed a biased response to the murder.

The Darakhshan investigation police arrested Zulqarnain, Shahrukh Jatoi’s guard, and on the information retrieved from him during interrogation, conducted raids at different places. They arrested nine people, including the general manager of the Jatoi family’s cement factory.

However, the police did not disclose the names of the arrested men.

The two men nominated as the accused in the FIR of Khan’s murder are Shahrukh Jatoi and Nawab Siraj Talpur.

“Both Shahrukh Jatoi and Siraj Talpur are still at large,” Clifton SP Javed Ali Mahar told The News.

“They are both in the country and the investigation team raided their hideouts in interior Sindh, but did not find them there.”

DIG South Shahid Hayat also confirmed that Jatoi and Talpur had not escaped to another country so far. “We have a list of the passengers who have flown abroad and their names are not there,” he added.

Khan, son of DSP Aurangzeb and a relative of Pakistan People’s Party leader Nabeel Gabol, was allegedly shot dead by Jatoi and Talpur after Khan prevented a servant of one of the accused from teasing his sister near their home.

The murder of the young man had prompted the civil society as well as political parties to take to the streets to demand that the culprits be brought to justice.

GM being grilled

A 63-year old man, Mehmoodul Hassan, is being investigated at the Darakhshan police station in the murder case of Shahzeb Khan, our correspondent Zaib Azkaar Hussain reported.

Hassan is said to be the general manager at the Zeal Pak Cement Factory. According to reliable sources, the factory where Hassan works as general manager is owned by Sikandar Jatoi’s family.

The detention of Hassan came to surface on Wednesday when a two-member judicial team, which raided the police station and found Hassan locked up, questioned Inspector Aslam Sakrani in the court of District and Sessions Judge (South) Ahmed Saba. Entertaining the complaint of the detainee’s son, Adnan Masood, the court had ordered the judicial team to conduct a raid and got Hassan recovered.

Adnan had told the judge that his father, Mehmoodul Hassan, was picked two days earlier and being kept in illegal detention by the Darkhshan police.

The court then directed the court head bailiff, M Mudassar and Bailiff Arif, to assist the applicant in the recovery of his father.

The team raided the police station and found Hassan there, but Inspector Aslam Sakrani claimed that the detainee was being interrogated for his alleged involvement in the murder of Shahzeb Khan. The inspector said that if the detainee was found innocent, he would be released.

The head bailiff however directed the SHO of the Darkhshan police station to appear before the court concerned on Thursday (today) along with the necessary record in regard to the murder of Khan and the alleged involvement of Hassan.

Posted in: Karachi News