KARACHI - A Station House Officer of Preedy police station was gunned down in a targeted attack in Defence area on Thursday.
According to police officials, victim SHO Ejaz Khwaja, 45, was going to Preedy police station from his residence at Phase-II, Defence when two unidentified armed riders targeted him at Akhtar Colony Interchange and managed to escape from the spot.
Police said the victim sustained three bullet hits on his chest and neck and died on the spot.
Police said around six bullet shells were found from the crime scene, which were sent to forensic lab for examination. Police got the CCTV footage of the crime scene which revealed that the gunmen were riding a motorbike. They targeted the SHO twice and fled.
Sources said the victim officer had arrested the main suspect of Baldia Factory fire, Shakeel aka Chotta. It is worth to mentioning here that it was the third similar police officer of the same police station who has been killed.
Inspector Gazanfar Ali Kazmi and Inspector Agha Asadullah were also gunned down in targeted attacks in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Nawaz Ranjha was targeted in 2010.
AIGP Karachi Ghulam Qadir Thebo has expressed concern over Khwaja’s murder and termed it a great loss. “The killers will not be spared,” he told the media. He said the murder of the inspector was an incident of target killing.
The terrorists are not missing the chance to retaliate. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has also taken notice of the incident and directed the police to furnish report on the incident.
He said Khawaja was not under any obvious threat. However, he was a police officer who was investigating multiple cases. DIG south Dr Jamil said the police were investigating the murder of the SHO from two angles; whether he was handling the high profile cases or whether he had some sort of friction with any organisation. DSP Nawaz Ranjha and his driver Jehangir Husain were killed in a targeted attack on MA Jinnah Road near Radio Pakistan building when the officer was returning from his duty on the night of August 16, 2010.
In another incident in 2013, Inspector Agha Asadullah was travelling in his private car on Dr Daudpta Road when a bullet hit him in the head. He was also posted as the SHO at Preedy police station.
Ghazanfar Ali Kazmi, also an SHO of Preedy police station, was shot dead in 2014. According to the police, gunmen attacked him near Anklesaria Hospital when he was going in his private car to his residence in Garden police headquarters.
SHO Kazmi took part in the 1992 operation against criminals in Karachi, said DIG Barrister Abdul Khalique Sheikh. The DIG had also revealed that the SHO had been under threats because of his active part in the ongoing operation against criminals in Karachi.