Six suspects were killed in four alleged police encounters carried out by the Crime Control Department (CCD) in various areas of Lahore, the capital of Punjab.
According to police, the alleged encounters took place in Nishtar Colony, Green Town, Harbanspura, and near Ring Road, resulting in the deaths of six suspects.
Sources said that in Green Town, a suspect in custody was killed by the firing of his accomplices, while three suspects were killed in an alleged encounter with CCD Civil Lines police.
Near Ring Road, suspects involved in looting citizens opened fire on police, and two of them were killed in the retaliatory fire, while two others managed to flee.
In another encounter near the Harbanspura railway crossing, a suspect named Anas was injured and shifted to a hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The bodies of the deceased suspects have been moved to the morgue for postmortem and will be handed over to their families after completion of legal formalities.
It is worth noting that in July, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum directed Punjab Inspector General of Police Dr. Usman Anwar to review the encounters conducted by the Crime Control Department (CCD).
The Chief Justice remarked that the court was receiving as many as 50 petitions in a single day concerning alleged fake encounters.
The remarks came during a hearing on a petition filed by a woman named Farhat Bibi, who had challenged an alleged police encounter involving the CCD. IGP Punjab Dr. Usman Anwar appeared before the court in compliance with the court’s order.
The petitioner’s lawyer argued that since the formation of the CCD, police encounters of a similar pattern have been taking place repeatedly. The petitioner’s one son was already killed in such an encounter, and she approached the court seeking protection for her other son.
Chief Justice Aalia Neelum noted that, according to the police report, while taking the accused for recovery, the vehicle got a punctured tire and his accomplices attacked. The Chief Justice said the IGP was summoned because the Station House Officer (SHO) failed to satisfy the court, and after reviewing the police report, the case appeared to be entirely different.
