-Court grants physical remand of CTD men
-Interior Minister, Advisors, Shehryar Afridi, IGP, DIG Operations visit home of Osama Satti
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Chief Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ahmed Ali on Sunday constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the death of a young man in an alleged staged encounter. SP Saddar Sarfraz Virk has been named as the head of the JIT which also comprises of DSP Ramna, DSP investigation and PS Ramna’s SHO. The commissioner formed a probe team under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which is tasked to carry out a detailed investigation into the incident and submit a report at the earliest.
Five Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel were taken into custody for indiscriminately gunning down a 22-year-old young man at Sector G-10 on Srignagar Highway within the jurisdiction of PS Ramna.
The security officials shot multiple fires on a so-called suspicious vehicle, after allegedly trying to stop the driver many times, cops said, adding that the officials followed a suspicious vehicle with tinted glasses and tried to stop it many times. Moreover, the court on Sunday granted a three-day physical remand of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel arrested for allegedly indiscriminately gunning down a 22-year-old young man in a staged encounter. Police presented the arrested cops before the court of duty judge Shehzad Khan and sought their physical remand for investigation. When the judge questioned whether the weapon had been recovered, the investigation officer informed him that it was yet to be recovered. To another question, the IO said the arrested five cops were assigned the same patrol vehicle.
IGP Islamabad Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar, on the other hand, along DIG Operations Waqar-ud-Din, on Sunday, visited the residence of Osama Satti and assured transparent investigation into his death. They offered fateha and expressed condolence and sorrow to the members of the bereaved family. The IGP said that Chief Commissioner has ordered Judicial Inquiry into the matter while Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been constituted headed by SP Saddar Sarfaraz Ahmed Virk. They assured that all legal aspect would be examined and justice would be ensured. The IGP said that nothing would be concealed from public and transparency would be high priority.
It is pertinent to mention here that Usama Nadeem Satti, a resident of G-13 Islamabad, was allegedly shot dead by personnel of the Anti-Terrorist Squad, in the wee hours, here the other day, claiming that they were chasing some dacoits.
In a late-night development, the Chief Commissioner Islamabad formed a joint investigation team (JIT) for an inquiry into the Usama Satti murder case. Superintendent Police SP, Sadr Muhamad Sarfraz Virk would lead the team comprising members from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI), and Intelligence Bureau (IB). The committee has been directed to submit it’s report at the earliest.
Usama’s father however rejected the police version of an encounter and said it was a premeditated murder, as was later endorsed by the post mortem report. He said his son was returning home, after dropping his friend at a university hostel, when the mishap happened.
According to the police, cops received a call late at night around 01:30am that few dacoits in a white car have escaped after committing a robbery in sector H-13, jurisdiction of PS Shams Colony. Upon this, ATS police personnel deputed for patrol in the area tried to stop a white Suzuki car having tinted glasses.
Despite repeated calls by ATS officials, the driver didn’t stop. The police chased the vehicle for good 5-6 kilometers but the car did not stop. On this, the ATS officials headed by a Sub Inspector fired at the car. Unfortunately, the driver also got shot and succumbed to injuries. The deceased was identified as Usama Nadeem, resident of sector G-13/2. “As the vehicle driver did not heed to the calls of ATS personnel to stop, the latter had to fire shots at the tires. Unfortunately, some bullets went astray and hit the boy driving the car, who died on the spot,†the police claimed.
IGP Islamabad, Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan immediately ordered an inquiry committee headed by DIG Operations Mr Waqar into the incident and directed arrest of all the five police officials involved. The committee will report facts within 24 hours and strict legal and departmental action will be taken against all involved. Cops registered FIR u/s 148/149/302PPC and 7-ATA and all five officials namely SI Iftikhar Ahmed and Constables Mudassar Mukhtar, Shakeel Ahmed, Saeed Ahmed, and Muhammad Mustafa were arrested.
The FIR registered by the father of the deceased gave a totally different account. He said, tha the lad had an altercation with the police personnel a night before and they had threatened him with dire consequences. Chief Commissioner Islamabad Amer Ali Ahmed Saturday ordered a judicial inquiry and directed Additional District Magistrate Rana Muhammad Waqas Anwar to probe the incident and submit a detailed report within five days. IGP Islamabad Muhammad Aamir Zulfiqar Khan also formed a team to probe the incident.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, on the other hand, said that he was shocked to know about the incident and had directed immediate arrest of those responsible and registering of FIR under section 302, 148 and 149, and 7ATA. He said no leniency would be shown towards the culprits and justice would be done. The white Suzuki Alto was hit with 22 bullets. The imported Japanese model comes with original tinted windows and all the vehicles get registered with the Islamabad Excise and Taxation Department. However, contrary to the claims of the police the post mortem report said Usama Nadeem was hit with six bullets, all from the rear, while he was also subjected to torture before he breathed his last. “All injuries were anti-mortem (injuries received before death) in nature and sufficient to cause death in ordinary course of nature,†the report said. According to his lawyer, it was a damning report that proved that Usama was murdered and it was not an accident. The incident immediately sent shock waves across the country, triggering a strong public reaction and #JusticeForUsamaNadeemSatti was the top trend on social media, with his friends and family sharing his pictures when he enthusiastically participated in the PTI rallies for Imran Khan. Furious family, friends, and citizens blocked the Srinagar Highway for hours as the administration initially remained reluctant to go for a judicial probe. Only after the announcement of a probe, the protestors cleared the road. The people in general strongly reacted to the poor selection, training, and professionalism of the police personnel. Minister for Human Rights in a late-night tweet termed it a shocking tragedy. He further stated, “Such a murderous action by police is unacceptable under any circumstance. Police guilty of this murder have been arrested but an innocent, unarmed youth lost his life. Citizens need to feel protected by, not fearful of police. Disturbing.â€
