RAWALPINDI - Superintendent of Police (SP) Rawal Division Syed Jamaat Ali Bukhari has said that the murder case of senior journalist Raja Assad Hameed would be opened again and a competent police team would also be set up to trace out this blind murder.
"I will order SHO Police Station Sadiqabad to table the case record before me after Eid holidays and I will personally look into the murder case. The killers will be arrested soon," said the SP while responding to a specific query about the performance of the local police at a press conference held Tuesday at the CPO Office.
On the occasion, the police also disclosed the arrest of two gangs busted of dacoits by Sadiqabad police from different localities besides recovering two stolen vehicles, arms and ammunitions. DSP New Town Circle Taimoor Khan, SHO PS Sadiqabad Malik Allah Yar and other raiding party members attended the conference.
It is pertinent to mention here that senior journalist Raja Assad Hameed, associated with The Nation was gunned down by two unknown killers on March 26, 2009 when he was parking his car outside his house located at Dhoke Kala Khan after returning from office.
Sadiqabad police had shelved the case after conducting "poor and faulty" investigation into the murder case. However, the journalists hailed the decision of SP Rawal widely and urged police to unveil the hands involved behind the killing of a senior journalist.
SP Jamaat Ali Naqvi, while addressing the media men, disclosed that Sadiqabad police have arrested 9 members of two gangs "Sufi and Pathan Gangs" during a raid and recovered pistols, bullets, a Kalashnikov, cash, jewelry and two vehicles that they stolen in various house and street crimes.
Those 9 members, rounded up by police, identified as Fazal-ur-Rehman, Rehan, Muhammad Zafran, Rashid Mehmood and Adeel Abbas of Fazal commonly known as Sufi Gang and Iftikhar Ahmed, Banyamen, Zain-ul-Aabdin and Muhammad Wali belonged to Pathan Gang, SP added. Nonetheless, a member Akmal Pathan was still at large and would be apprehended soon, he said.
The gangs targeted citizens within the limits of police stations PS Kalar Seydan, Naseerabad, Sadiqabad, Morgah and Civil Lin looting and snatching cash, gold ornaments, 1 8mm riffle, 7 pistols of 30 bore with 120 bullets, foreign currency, laptops, motorcycle, a Corolla car LEC-4218 and other valuables, SP said adding that booty was recovered.