KARACHI: Two weeks after the arrest of former Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Rao Anwar over the killing of 27-year-old Naqeebullah Mehsud, the absconding team members of the police officer are still at large, reported a local media outlet on Tuesday.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) formed to investigate the incident has been interrogating Rao Anwar about the whereabouts of his subordinate officers but no valuable information has so far been obtained.
“Basically it was not a fake encounter. From day one it was known that all suspects went into hiding together and Anwar was assisting them. But now, Anwar is denying his involvement in helping his aides go into hiding,” said a police officer.
Anwar has blamed his subordinate officer of killing the youngster and has denied personal involvement in the incident.
A police officer speaking on the condition of anonymity said that “Anwar is repeating the same statement which he earlier gave to the media and the inquiry committee before going into hiding.The court wants evidence. There is no evidence so far that can prove him guilty. The JIT should provide evidence against him to prove him guilty, otherwise, he will get a clean chit.”
As part of his denial, Anwar has told JIT that he only visited the site of the crime after the incident.
“I did not order them to conduct an encounter. My mobile phone’s location can be checked to verify that statement. I cannot say whether they killed them [Naqeebullah and others] intentionally or unintentionally because i could not investigate the case or question them about the encounter. They should be arrested and asked why and how they killed them, instead of questioning me,” he reportedly told the JIT.
JIT chief AIG Aftab Pathan has denied media reports that Rao Anwar had been shifted to his own residence and that top police officials were aware of it, including the IG (Inspector General).
“We had no information about his hiding place. That is wrong. It is also wrong that we have detained him at his own house,” he said.
“We will be able to respond once the investigation is complete,” he responded to a question regarding the involvement of Anwar in the killings.
Anwar is in the custody of the JIT since presenting himself to the Supreme Court on March 21. 13 members of Anwar’s team purportedly responsible for the killing of Naqeebullah are still large.
They have been disbanded from service and three separate police teams are tracing their whereabouts.
