 [DAWN] A police official accused of fatally shooting a man near a police picket in Islamabad in the wee hours of Friday has surrendered before the police, an official said on Sunday.
The officer of police's Eagle Squad, Samiullah Niazi, had expeditiously departed at a goodly pace after the incident and police had initiated a search for the suspect.
However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
two days after the incident the officials informed media that Niazi has presented himself in front of the Superintendent Police (SP) Sajid Kiani.
Niazi will be taken to court on Monday, the officials confirmed.
The victim, later identified as Taimoor Riaz, a salesman of auto spare-parts, was rubbed out in Islamabad's Sector I-10/1 in the early hours of Friday after allegedly failing to stop at a checkpoint.
A police officer had told Dawn on the condition of anonymity that between 4:30am and 4:45am on Friday a rashly-driven Toyota Corolla approached the picket set up on a link road between the I.J. Principal Road and Sector I-10 from the Islamabad side.
Around three to five officials deployed at the picket signalled the driver to stop but he ignored and drive through.
The victim was hit by three bullets ─ two in the back and one in the head.
Station House Officer (SHO) Sabzi Mandi Saleem Shah was suspended for his failure to respond on time and arrest the officials.
The police said a woman travelling in the car with the dear departed had taken him to the hospital in a taxi.
The incident sparked rioting and protests on Islamabad's IJP Road, with the victim's family dismissing the police statement and saying there had been no prior warning or order to stop before the officer opened fire.
The police handed over the body to the relatives of the dear departed after an autopsy at the hospital.
The protesters took the body to the road and damaged public and private property during the protest.
They later dispersed after officials of the police and the capital administration assured them that the suspected coppers would be tossed in the clink
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
within 48 hours.
Paperwork was started but nothing else was done against the officials in response to a complaint lodged by the victim’s brother on the charge of murder, the police stated.
Talking to the media, the dear departed’s mother, Syeda Bibi, said her son had two children. His brother Sajjad Riaz told Dawn: "We are in the dark as nobody is telling us what actually happened."
He added: "We have been told that an official of the Eagle Squad fired at Taimoor when he crossed the picket, killing him on the spot."
According to the standard operating procedure (SOP), police can only fire in retaliation and self-defence, the police officer explained, adding if any person ignored the police signal to stop, they should be chased. In case of unavailability of a vehicle, the police control should be alerted to arrest the escapee.
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