rawalpindi -  Two unidentified gunmen in small hours of Saturday launched a brazen armed attack in Nishter Street of Sadiqabad killing two sanitary workers of Turkish Company Albayrak and critically wounded another, informed sources.

The assailants on a motorbike managed to escape the scene after spraying the poor sanitary workers with a volley of bullets. The newly launched “Dolphin Force” was nowhere in sight in Sadiqabad region that has become a death zone for the helpless sanitary workers of Albayrak.

Rescue 1122 moved the injured sanitary worker to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) for medical treatment where he was identified as Muhammad Irshad son of Meharban, a resident of Dhoke Rajgan.

The two dead bodies were shifted to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital for autopsy where they were identified as Saqib Hussain son of Ghulam Muhammad, hailing from Railway Colony and Asif Masih son of Khalid Masih of Iqbal Town.  The shooting spree launched by unknown gunmen continued for more than 10 minutes causing a wave of panic among the locals.

The higher authorities are considering assigning Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) the task to catch the assailants involved in killing 6 sanitary workers of Albayrak after the police failed to do so. According to police and sources, a three-member team of sanitary workers reached Nister Street, Milad Chowk at 5am on a truck bearing registration number LES 8055 to lift the garbage from bins and clean the streets and roads, they said.

In the meantime two unknown assailants arrived and opened indiscriminate firing on Asif Mashih. “The killers fired 6 bullets on his face, neck and torso which led to his death on the spot,” they said. The attackers then rode towards Service Road where Albayrak truck was parked with Muhammad Irshad on the driving seat.

The gunmen shot and injured him critically. “Irshad sustained a bullet injury into his chest,” sources and police said. The shooters then targeted Saqib Hussain, who was cleaning the road a few yards from the truck, killing him on the spot. After the shooting, the culprits fled from the scene.

Police reached the spot and shifted the victims to hospitals for medical treatment and autopsy. “The condition of Irshad is critical as he sustained bullets in his chest. But we are trying to save his life,” said a doctor.

Station House Officer (SHO) Police Station (PS) Sadiqabad Chaudhry Zulfiqar, when contacted, said police have registered a case against unknown culprits involved in killing two sanitary workers of Albayrak and injuring another. He said that investigators recovered more than a dozen dead shell of bullets fired from 30 bore pistols.

The police are trying to obtain CCTV footage from the route the culprits used for fleeing.

On the other hand, the higher authorities have decided to engage CTD Rawalpindi to trace the culprits involved in the killing of Albayrak sanitary workers. A senior police officer said “Since the police have failed to capture even a single attacker despite the third deadliest attack on Albayrak sanitary workers in the limits of Sadiqabad police station, CTD Rawalpindi has been tasked to round up the fleeing killers,”

The unidentified shooters had earlier murdered two sanitary workers of Albayrak and injured three others in two separate attacks they launched within limits of PS Sadiqabad. On June 3, 2017 Ashir Asif son of Asif Masih was attacked and killed by two unknown shooters near Chandni Chowk Murree Road.

Similarly, two unknown shooters riding on a motorbike launched an armed attack at Data Ganj Baksh Road and killed Karamat Masih son of Bashir Masih. The attackers also shot and injured Saghir Masih son of Majeed Masih. Cases were lodged with PS Sadiqabad against unknown attackers but not a single killer has been arrested so far.

All Pakistan Local Workers Government Workers Federation and PTI city chapter under the leadership of Malik Zaheer Awan staged a protest demonstration against the killing of sanitary workers outside mortuary at DHQ. They called on the government to transfer the investigation to competent authority and round the killers.