HOW many ‘encounter’ killings will there be before murderous law-enforcement personnel are brought to book? On Sunday, a Sindh University student, Mohammed Irfan Jatoi, was gunned down in Sukkur in an ostensible encounter with the cops, who described him as a “notorious dacoit” wanted in connection with several crimes. Except, Irfan’s friends and social media activists denounced this version as a pack of lies, claiming he had been taken away from the campus on Feb 10 by the police and remained in their custody until they killed him almost a month later. Following the public furore, IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar ordered an inquiry. The investigation could bring to an end the impunity with which extrajudicial killings are committed in this country, especially in Sindh and Punjab, or it could turn out to be yet more lip service to the notion of accountability for trigger-happy law-enforcement officials.
KARACHI: Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the killing of a Sindh University student in an alleged encounter in Sukkur after the incident sparked outrage on social media and opposition parties in the provincial assembly demanded a judicial inquiry.
Mohammed Irfan Jatoi was shot dead in a suspected encounter in Sukkur on Sunday. The police alleged that he was a “notorious dacoit” wanted in connection with several crimes. However, his friends and social media activists rejected the police claim and said that he was taken away by the law enforcers from SU on Feb 10 and they killed him in their custody after almost a month.
Mohammad Irfan Jatoi was shot dead in an encounter in Sukkur district on Sunday. Photo courtesy Twitter
Sindh Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the killing of a student of the Sindh University in an alleged encounter in Sukkur after it triggered outrage on social media with opposition parties in the provincial assembly demanding a judicial probe into the matter.
Police claimed that Mohammad Irfan Jatoi was a notorious dacoit wanted in several crimes and was shot dead in an exchange of fire with police in Sukkur district on Sunday.
However, his friends in the varsity and social media activists rejected the police claims and said that he was a Sindh University student who was allegedly taken away by the law enforcers from the varsity on February 10 and killed in custody nearly a month later.