[DAWN] The family of the man, who was killed in alleged crossfire between police and suspected robbers in Bloody Karachi...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
in January, have raised objection over the handling of the case, accusing police of "committing murder in broad daylight".
Talking to media on Tuesday, the family of Maqsood Mohammed, accompanied by social activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir, said that the challan
... list of charges ...
submitted by the police before the court has revealed many things.
Nasir drew the attention of media persons towards the fact that the police firing had not only resulted in the death of Maqsood "but also that of the suspected robbers".
He said, "Police have committed murder in broad daylight," and demanded that the CCTV footage of the incident be made public.
According to Nasir, the CCTV footage clearly shows that there was no attempt by the robbers to stop the rickshaw.
"The robbers reportedly pretended that their vehicle had been in an accident, and on the pretext of rushing to the hospital they tried to get away on the rickshaw Maqsood had been travelling in," said Nasir.
The police then "took pursuit of the rickshaw in a private car and cornered it, dragged the men out, sat them on the road and shot them," the lawyer claimed.
Nasir alleged that eyewitness accounts were coerced and requested that they should be recorded again. He urged that the matter should be investigated by "coppers with clean records".
The lawyer accused ASI Tariq of murdering Maqsood and called for a departmental investigation to be conducted in the matter. He further revealed that police have admitted that the robbers were not armed.
He demanded that bail given to police officials involved in the case be cancelled and a case should be registered against them under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).