KARACHI -  At least six personnel of the Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) arrested over murder of a young man in Defence Housing Authority (DHA).

Late on Saturday evening in Karachi’s posh locality – DHA, a twenty-one-year-old Intizar Ahmed, a resident of the Khayaban-e-Badban, was shot dead in mysterious circumstances at Khayaban-e-Ittehad.

Intizar’s murder was termed as an act of target killing by the police in the first report; however, the case took a U-turn after the involvement of the ACLC police team was found in the murder of the young man Intizar.

The police investigations then ruled out the possibility of the target killing revealed that Intizar was shot and killed by a special team of the ACLC, the Karachi’s police specialized cell deals with the anti-vehicles’ lifting.

Initially, all the nine ACLC cops were suspended by the Criminal Investigation Agency chief DIG Saqib Ismail Memon and an inquiry was ordered against them. Three ACLC inspectors including Tariq Rahim, Tariq Mehmood, Azhar Ahsan Rizvi, two head constables, Ghulam Abbas, Shahid and four constables – Ghulam Abbas, Fawad Khan, Daniyal and Bilal were among the suspended cops. Tariq Mehmood was the ACLC SHO while the constables Daniyal and Bilal were the gunmen of the ACLC SSP.

“They are shifted to Line Sharifabad, ACLC, Karachi till completion of the enquiry. They shall draw pay and allowances as admissible under the rules during suspension period. They also deposit their service revolver,” reads a suspension letter issued by Criminal Investigation Agency chief DIG Saqib Ismail Memon.

But later six of them were arrested after the Darakshan police registered a murder case against the ACLC men on the complained of the Intizar’s family while the remaining three had been managed to escape. “We have registered a murder case against the ACLC cops on the complaint of the family,” explained District South police chief SSP Javed Akbar Riaz. “It was an incident of mistaken identity but we have booked the ACLC men in the murder FIR as what the parents of the victim demanded.” The SSP Riaz admitted that the vehicles bearing official registration numbers are being snatched in the area from the few days even one of the similar cars was snatched on Sunday.

Speaking to media outside the Jinnah hospital, CIA DIG Saqib Ismail confirmed that personnel of the Sindh police’s Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) had shot dead the young man. “There was deployment of the ACLC. The ACLC personnel opened fire on the car, which hit him. We are looking into this matter,” he said.

ACLC officials in their defense said that they were looking for the car lifters who were busy snatching of the vehicles bearing official registration number plates in the Defence area. “The snatchers we had information that usually use the white corolla. We were looking for them from the last few days with our deployment in plainclothes in the area,” said one of the arrested ACLC cop. “We had asked the youth stop his car. When he didn’t stop the car, we opened fire on the vehicle and the young man died.”

Deceased Intizar was the only child of their parents and was studying at a university in Malaysia after completing his O and A levels from the City School, in Darakshan. He had been returned to Karachi in November, last year for his winter break.

The family of the deceased also held a press conference over the incident, seeking justice from the authorities. Victim’s father Ishtiaq Ahmed, accompanied by a sister and lawyer Muhammad Asif Khudai demanded justice for Intizar. “I want justice,” expressing zero faith in the police, appealed victim’s father to the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief of army staff.

“Intizar had a fight with two men two days back — Fahad and Haider, sons of a lawyer and policeman, respectively.”

The victim father’s lawyer said that the multiple bullets fired by the police confirmed that the ACLC police wanted to kill Intizar instead of stopping him. “There was a clear intention to kill,” said the lawyer. “Multiple bullet holes in the car shows the police aimed to kill and not stop him.”

Chief Minister Murad Shah also took the notice of the incident and directed police officials to discuss the evidence recovered with the family of the deceased and to conduct the investigation in a professional manner.