LAHORE Day after the policemen mercilessly gunned down a 23-year-old youth in a fake encounter here in Nishtar Colony Area, the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ahmed Raza Tahir went defensive, retracting from his public statement of aggressive policing. The CCPO tried to control 'collateral damage on Sunday by issuing another statement directing the police to remove police pickets from all across the Punjab capital. Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC) has taken suo moto notice of the killing after it was revealed that the police pumped over a dozen bullets into youth body during a staged encounter. Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry has ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Chief Secretary, Home Secretary Punjab to appear before the court on June 14 along with all the relevant record and autopsy report of the deceased youth. During his first press conference last month, Ahmed Raza Tahir announced that the police would adopt 'aggressive policy and not 'defensive policy against the criminals, and also issued shoot-to-kill orders for the hardened criminals. On Sunday, he tried to backtrack from his earlier stance, directing the City police to transform every police station into a place of respect and honour for every law-abiding citizen by extending them wholehearted cooperation, while dealing strictly with the criminal elements. Late on Friday night, the policemen staged a fake encounter in Nishtar Colony Area and mercilessly gunned down the youth a few hours after the local residents captured him on the suspicion of an armed robbery and handed him over to the police for interrogation. The policemen announced that the youth, identified as Shahbaz Butt, was a robber and killed during crossfire. However, autopsy report of the youth revealed that he was badly thrashed, dragged and tortured during custody before being shot at multiple times. The youth sustained over a dozen bullets and there were visible marks of severe torture on his body parts, according to the autopsy report. According to a police handout issued on Sunday, CCPPO Ahmad Raza Tahir has said that all pickets throughout the city would be gradually removed. The CCPO directed senior officers of Lahore Police, including SPs to come out into field by leaving their air conditioned rooms in order to serve the masses. He said rude behavior or gross attitude towards visiting citizens in police stations would not be tolerated. CCPO directed further streamlining of surveillance system and ordered all divisional SPs to conduct regular survey of their respective areas, along with improving the patrolling system. He said special attention should be paid for arresting the criminals and proclaimed offenders involved in heinous crime like terrorism, kidnap for ransom, dacoity, murder and extortion. Ahmad Raza Tahir also directed officers to keep a watchful eye on those police officials who extend patronage to land mafia and indulge in other social crimes, for which close coordination and liaison with notables of the area ought to the maintained. In his order, CCPO further directed propagation of community policing and holding of regular meetings with the public representatives. Tahir said that every officer and official will have to perform his effective role in eliminating and uprooting crime and provided protection to the life and property of the masses. CCPO said that launching effective action against gangs, involved in heinous crimes, is the need of the hour. Ahmad Raza Tahir warned that those police officials who would indulge in torture, illegal arrests or misbehave with citizens would not be spared. He said prompt and impartial action on every genuine complaint of citizen should be the main motto of Lahore Police, which will go a long way in enhancing trust on the police. He said that effective steps should be taken to eliminate existing Thana culture and warned that corruption would not be tolerated at any level.