- East DIG says woman's death was “collateral damage.”
- The victim's family says they “did not get justice” from the police.
- Police say Steel Town SHO had no involvement in the case.
KARACHI: The hours-long sit-in on Karachi's National Highway to protest the death of a woman allegedly fired by police in Steel Town last week was called off on Sunday after the latest bout of talks with law enforcement officials.
Residents of the area and the victim's family staged a sit-in on the National Highway where a woman was shot dead in what police said was “collateral damage” during an alleged encounter with criminals, leading to massive traffic disruption on one of the main roads connecting the metropolis to the rest of the country for nearly 24 hours.
A woman was reportedly killed in an exchange of fire between police and armed suspects on Gulshan-e-Hadeed Link Road in Steel Town on July 4.
The grieving family had been seeking registration of a first information report (FIR) against the Steel Town police station house officer (SHO) for leading the encounter that left the woman dead.
However, police claimed that the said police officer was not involved in the shooting as he was at the police station at the time of the clash. They said that the police party was chasing the criminals when the woman was caught in the line of fire.
Police said they had lodged a complaint against four policemen involved in the incident, but the family did not agree to those terms. They claimed they had the call log and CCTV footage as evidence in SHO's defence.
Meanwhile, the victim's brother stressed that SHO should be booked as the police party could not get involved in an encounter with criminals without the former's consent.
However, the family ended the protest following talks led by Eastern Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ghulam Azfar Mahesar, saying they “left the matter in the hands of Allah”.
The victim's brother said that although a case had been registered, they did not get justice because the authorities “did not listen” to their demands.
Speaking to the media after the negotiations, DIG Mahesar said the police party was chasing the notorious ‘White Corolla’ gang when the victim’s car got caught in the line of fire.
He clarified that the police have not registered any complaints against the affected family as if they were the target of the incident.
“It was a case of collateral damage which we are investigating,” Mahesar said, adding that the police are ready to conduct a judicial inquiry under any official or agency that the family finds reliable.
“If the police are guilty, they will go behind bars,” he said.
Mahesar further said that the police cannot commit “contempt of court” by filing another FIR in the same case referring to a Supreme Court verdict in the Sughra Bibi case.
After the protest ended, traffic authorities began work to restore traffic flow on the National Highway.
