KARACHI - Two Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) employees were gunned down here on Monday. The deceased, clad in a uniform having resemblance with the police uniform, were performing duties at the main gate of Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) office when they came under attack. 

The Regional Office of the FBR, where the unfortunate incident took place, is located in Block 17, Gulistan-e-Jauhar within the limits of Sharae Faisal police station. Witnesses said that at least four armed men riding two motorcycles were behind the incident. 

"At first, two armed motorcyclists came close to them. One of them opened fire at the victims. Later two more came and joined them," said the witnesses. "The attackers had covered their faces with helmets," they explained.

The armed men later easily managed to escape after committing the crime.

The victims were later identified as Tanzeemul Huda, son of Noorullah and Faqira, son Ghunda Amal. After having been informed, extra contingent of the law enforcers immediately reached the site and collected the evidence.

District East SSP Irfan Baloch said that both the victims were shot at multiple times and died shortly after the incident. Police have recovered at least eight empty shells of 9mm and 30bore pistols from the crime scene. “The shells would be sent to forensic division of the Sindh police to ascertain whether they were used in the past,” said the SSP.

Police is also trying to obtain footages from the CCTV cameras and recording of statements of witnesses from a place near the crime scene. The incident took an unusual turn when family of one of the victims, Faqira, and the FBR employees started staging protest by laying the victims' bodies at the FBR office.

The protesters said that Faqira was a sweeper at the FBR. The relatives of Faqira expressed annoyance, and said that the FBR officials made sweeper a policeman. "A sweeper has been deputed on security duty while wearing a police uniform and providing him with a gun without any training. Criminal case should be registered against those who are responsible for this," they shouted.

The protesters blamed the chief security officer for the killing.

On the other hand, the chief security officer, Ikhlaq, contradicted the allegation levelled against him. "We are already understaffed, and I have also asked the authorities concerned to enhance the security," he said, and added, "I had assigned Faqira the security duty few months ago when he saluted me and insisted that he be assigned the job." Police investigators said that the militant group could have been behind the incident.

They said that the victims were apparently targeted as they were wearing uniforms like police. This is not the first such incident to have occurred in the city in the current year as earlier a personnel of Police Foundation, who was also wearing a police uniform, was killed in Shara-e-Faisal.

The group, which had killed the personnel, was also involved in attack on a traffic police warden at Abul Hassan Isphani Road and in the killings of policemen of Awami Colony police station near Dar-ul-Uloom in Korangi.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed to have eliminated the group belonging to Mufti Shakir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). 

Police investigators believe that the recent attacks and killings of two people at FBR’s office could be parts of a series of such attacks on police in Karachi. Sindh Home minister Sohail Anwar Siyal and IGP Sindh Allah Dino Khawaja have also taken notice of the incident and sought a report from Additional IG Karachi and DIG Zone East. No militant organisation has claimed responsibility for the incident. Shara-e-Faisal SHO Imitiaz Mir said that the case was being investigated from different angles. No case was registered till the filing of this news story.

Three ‘criminals’ killed

in ‘encounters’

Three suspected criminals were killed during two separate alleged encounters with the police in parts of the city on Monday. Two suspected criminals were killed in Site Super Highway while another at Brigade area. 

According to details, at least four armed criminals were busy looting citizens near Super Highway. District Malir SSP Rao Anwar said that police reached the spot after receiving compliant made by a citizen, namely Rizwan via Police Helpline Madadgar 15, adding that the robbers opened fire at the police when they saw police reaching close to them.

Police also fired back and killed two suspects while the remaining two managed to escape under the cover of fire.

Police, however, claims to have recovered arms, ammunitions and looted valuables from their possession.

Their bodies were shifted to a morgue for identification after medico legal formalities completed at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

Separately, a similar encounter took place between police and street criminals at water ground, Lines Area.

Police said that one street criminal, who was yet to be identified, was killed while two of his companions managed to escape.

Police also claimed to have recovered a pistol and a motorcycle from his possession.

Cases were registered while further investigation was underway.