KARACHI: The five-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT), constituted on order of the apex court to probe into Naqeebullah Mehsud’s extrajudicial killing, has completed its report which will be submitted to an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on April 21 [today].
The prime accused in the case, former SSP Rao Anwar – who surrendered before the Supreme Court last month after playing hide and seek with the authorities in the wake of Naqeeb’s murder in January – has also recorded his statement before the JIT and blamed his at least two subordinates for the killing.
“They [Abbas Town police post in-charge Akbar Mallah and Faisal Mehmood] were my trusted subordinates but they have broken my trust,” a official quoted Anwar’s statement. “They picked up at least five people and later released four of them after taking at least Rs1.6 million.”
The JIT has also recorded statements of two of the four people who were abducted and released by the Rao Anwar’s team members. The JIT head Sindh Additional IG Aftab Pathan was unavailable for comments when contacted.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the JIT has agreed to Anwar’s demand not to appeal for his further remand. An officer from the investigating team told media that Anwar’s one-month remand has ended and further remand will not be demanded.
He said a few days back the main accused and the members of his team were offered leniency in exchange for their cooperation. This helped in the investigations and the team hopes that the absconders will also be arrested as soon as the case starts to proceed.
He said that after this offer, Rao Anwar began cooperating with the team and the investigating officer Dr Rizwan Ahmed will not appeal for further remand in the court. Ahmed said the absconding members of the team will be arrested in a month. About a dozen members of Anwar’s team are still at large.
Rao Anwar and his team went into hiding weeks after killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud and three others in a staged encounter at Karachi’s Shah Latif locality on January 13. Anwar had earlier claimed that the men gunned down were terrorist associated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Islamic State.
A murder case with the clause of the anti-terrorism act was registered against SSP Anwar and his team after a three-member inquiry committee headed by Additional IG CTD Sanaullah Abbasi found them guilty.
