KARACHI: Relatives and activists of the Jeay Sindh Tehreek on Friday held a protest demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club against the killing of the JST’s Karachi president by a union council chairman on Feb 6 on the National Highway in the Shah Latif Town police limits.

The UC chairman had claimed that in “self-defence” he gunned down the suspected robber, later on identified as Irshad Ranjhani in his 30s, who with his accomplices had tried to rob him near Bhains Colony Mor on Feb 6. But activists and the victim’s relatives said that Irshad Ranjhani was an “innocent” person.

Khalid Ranjhani told Dawn that his brother was “kidnapped” and later gunned down as his mobile phone had remained switched off since Sunday when he left his home in Dadu for Karachi. He said they suspected “some conspiracy” behind the murder of his brother, but he did not elaborate it.

DIG backs claim that the victim tried to rob the nazim at gunpoint

He said after Soyem of his brother, they would approach the judiciary for a “judicial inquiry into the kidnapping and murder”.

‘10’ bullet wounds on body

Khalid said he himself gave ‘ghusl’ (bath) to his dead brother and there were 10 bullet wounds on the body, including five on the face.

Aftab Shah, a JST worker protesting outside the KPC, told Dawn that the deceased was their party’s Karachi president. He had come back from Dubai recently and visited his family in Dadu district.

The JST activist alleged that the victim had sustained two bullet wounds and was profusely bleeding on the highway and later on the Shah Latif police took him to the police station, where they allegedly pumped eight more bullets into his body.

The dead man was taken to his native place for burial.

The protesters demanded registration of a murder case against UC Bhains Colony chairman Abdul Raheem Shah, the Shah Latif SHO and Bin Qasim DSP.

Police version

DIG-East Amir Farooqi told Dawn that “preliminary findings indicate that the UC (Bhains Colony) nazim (Abdul Raheem Shah) withdrew cash from a bank”. Two men riding a motorbike intercepted him near Bhains Colony Mor on the National Highway.

“They showed a pistol and demanded the cash. The UC nazim says he fired at the man from inside the car in self-defence,” added Mr Farooqi while sharing findings of the preliminary report.

The other persons accompanying the killed suspect ran away on motorbikes.

The senior officer pointed out that “there are witnesses to the whole incident as it happened on the main road and during broad daylight.”

“We are checking if the deceased had a criminal record or not,” he added.

The police denied the charges of the protesters that he was taken to the police station instead of the hospital.

“I am told that police called the ambulance which took him to hospital,” said the DIG.

UC chairman’s version

According to the FIR (90/2019), the UC chairman drew Rs1m from a bank at Nursery and was on his way to his home with his son in a car when four suspects riding two motorbikes tried to intercept their car near Bhains Colony Mor. As his son, Hasan Ali accelerated the speed of the vehicle, the suspects resorted to firing.

“When we stopped the car as another vehicle came in front of us, two armed men came to a side of the car and demanded cash from me,” said the UC chairman in his statement before the police.

“I took out my 9mm pistol and opened fire on them. The suspects also retaliated and one suspect was injured while his accomplices managed to escape resorting to aerial firing.”

The complainant claimed that police inspector Riaz Husain took a 9mm pistol from the right hand of the injured man and took him to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in an ambulance.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2019