Suspect who shot teenager in Golimar turns out to be police informer

In a major development in the case pertaining to the shooting of a teenage student in Karachi’s Golimar area on Wednesday, it has been revealed that the suspect behind shooting was not a policeman, but a police informer.

Safdar, also known as Shoaib, had shot the 15-year-old boy, Ayan. He was earlier stated to be a policeman in plainclothes. He has been arrested along with his companion Faraz who was with him at the time of the incident. Their another companion, Ali, is also yet to be arrested.

“The entire initial 24 hours after the incident, everyone hid the fact that Safdar and others were not cops. Why? Definitely, they would have some mala fide intention to hide this important fact,” a family member of Ayan remarked. “Who has given them the authority to carry weapons and open fire on the citizens. Private persons or informers are not authorised to open fire even on criminals.”

The arrested suspect is said to be working as a police informer for a long time. He was there along with two more private persons of a special party of the SHO at the time when the incident occurred.

The family has registered a case against Safdar and his two companions belonging to the private party of Rizvia SHO Waqar Qaiser. An FIR No 128/23 under the section 327/34 was registered at the Rizvia police station on the complaint of the victim’s maternal uncle, Noman, son of Ikramuddin.

The complainant stated in the FIR that a private person who had now been identified as Safdar opened fire on his nephew. “He fired at least three shots, critically injuring my nephew,” reads the FIR. “Instead of taking him to the hospital, they continued to make his video on mobile phones.”

The family is worried about the future of the injured Ayan as doctors have expressed the apprehension that he may get paralysed.

A surgery had been performed on the boy, but doctors had said that there was 95 per cent chance that the boy would not be able to stand on his legs, the victim’s maternal uncle told The News. “We are only hoping for a miracle.”

Besides the registration of an FIR and arrest of two of the three nominated suspects, a departmental inquiry has also been initiated against the Rizvia SHO who was suspended following the incident.

District Central SSP Maroof Usman while talking to The News confirmed that Safdar was a police informer and two more private personnel of the SHO’s special party were with him. “These informers and private police party had reached there with a police mobile following a motorcycle snatching and an encounter had occurred at the underpass shortly before Ayan reached there,” the officer explained.

“At the time when they [suspects] were busy in their investigations, suddenly, Ayan and his friend came on their motorcycles and they tried to flee while seeing the police, upon which Safdar opened fire on him,” the SSP stated.

Responding to a question, SSP Usman said Safdar and Faraz had been arrested so far and the third suspect would be arrested soon as the police had no mala fide intentions and they were taking stern and serious action in this case. He declared that besides suspension, the SHO would also be punished according to the law for having a private party with weapons.

He said it was unacceptable that private persons or informers carrying weapons opened fire on citizens. “We are with the family and cooperating with them as much as we can. We are also looking for the medical treatment and expenses. The family should not be worried or disheartened because in such cases, physiotherapy can work and we will also go for his physiotherapy and the police will also bear all the expenses,” SSP Usman asserted.

Earlier on Wednesday, police had claimed that Ayan, a student of grade VIII, was shot and injured by a cop in plainclothes belonging to a motorcycle squad near the Golimar underpass within the limits of the Rizvia police station.

The injured teenager is admitted to a private hospital on National Stadium Road for medical treatment. The victim’s friend, Owais, who accompanied him when the tragic incident took place narrated that they were going towards Golimar Chowrangi from the Lalukhet area on their motorcycles when some persons, who later turned out to be policemen in plainclothes, present near the underpass caught his hand on a moving motorcycle causing the motorcycle to slip.

”Upon seeing this, Ayan got scared and turned his motorcycle in an attempt to go back,” Owais said, adding that a policeman then shot him from behind. “Ayan was seriously injured and lying on the ground and the officers in plainclothes started to make a video. We kept crying but the policemen did not listen to us,” the ill-fated friend explained.