Justice for Waqas Ahmed: Youth shot dead by Faisalabad police

JUSTICE FOR WAQAS AHMED: In yet another case of police brutality, a young man was shot dead and three others wounded when police fired on a vehicle in Dijkot area of Faisalabad on Wednesday night.

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According to the details, the four persons were returning from a Mehndi ceremony and traveling on Samundri road in Faisalabad when ASI Shahid Manzoor stationed at a check-post asked them to stop but upon failure to comply the cops opened fire at the vehicle which resulted in the death of Mohammad Waqas Ahmed while three others were injured.

A spokesperson for the police department also claimed that the four persons had consumed alcohol, however, the body and injured were shifted to hospital for medico-legal formalities which will reveal more details into the matter.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has taken notice of the incident and ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab to conduct an unbiased inquiry into the murder of Waqas Ahmed. The CM said that no one, including the police can be allowed to make law into their own hands.

Furthermore, the City Police Officer (CPO) Sohail Chaudhry has issued a notification regarding the constitution of an inquiry committee which will be headed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigation Bilal Iftikhar.

The committee will provide daily reports to CPO Sohail Chaudhry regarding the investigation into the murder and the conclusion of the probe.

Meanwhile, the police personnel involved in the Mohammad Waqas Ahmed murder case have been taken into custody and a case has been registered under different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) on the request of the victim’s brother, Owais.

The victim’s brother stated in the complaint that ASI Shahid Manzoor was angry at at his brother, Waqas Ahmed, after he accidently ran over his foot at the check-post and as a result, the police personnel present at the scene began to threaten them by pulling out their rifles.

The victim’s brother added that police chased the vehicle when Waqas tried to drive away from the scene as everyone was scared for their lives but ended up stopping again at a village and surrendered to the cops by raising his hands.

However, one of the constables present at the scene and identified as Usman allegedly opened fire on the vehicle on the orders of ASI Shahid Manzoor who said, “show them the consequences of fleeing.”

Owais added that his brother Mohammad Waqas Ahmed was seriously wounded and fell down on the ground after getting shot in the stomach, but the police officials continued kicking and hitting him even after he died.

The police patrolling team also carried out aerial firing to disperse the local residents who had gathered on the scene taking the victim’s body and his car with them.

However, the accused officer has an entirely different story and according to them, they chased the car after it did not stop at the check post and the vehicle’s driver, Mohammad Waqas Ahmed “was killed in an exchange of fire.”

The victim’s family along with others from the area blocked the Samundri road located in Faisalabad and demanded justice for Waqas Ahmed.

Surprisingly, this matter did not gain as much traction as an earlier incident where ATF personnel shot dead 22-year-old Usama Satti in G-10 sector Islamabad in a very similar incident.