Police get custody of four men charged with murdering Abidi

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The administrative judge of Karachi’s anti-terrorism courts remanded on Tuesday four suspects in police custody for five days for interrogation about the killing of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan former MNA Ali Raza Abidi.CTD officials told the judge that they had arrested Farooq, Haseeb, Ghazali and Abu Bakr, but they were yet to identify the mastermind of the target killing, suspecting that a hostile agency that used hitmen might have been responsible.“It seems that the arrested suspects are associated with a Lyari-based gang, but nothing can be said for sure about the brains of the incident,” SSP Naveed Ahmed Nisar Khawaja had earlier told The News. “They were hired for the murder, but their handlers remain unidentified.”He said that some eight men were behind the incident and they were paid Rs800,000 by a middleman. “The middleman has also been identified, but he is not affiliated with any party. A hostile agency like India’s RAW may have been behind the murder.”During the news conference at his office earlier in the evening, SSP Khawaja said the arrests were made during raids in Kharadar and its surrounding areas. “Abidi’s case was a blind murder. The investigation was initiated by conducting geo-fencing.”The SSP said Farooq’s brother, Mustafa, alias Kali Chiran, and three more suspects, Faizan, Hasnain and Bilal, remain absconding. He said the suspects provided the weapons and cash concealed in a flour bag, and started conducting Abidi’s recce between December 8 and December 9.“The murder was committed after two weeks of planning,” the officer said while quoting the suspects’ statements. “They also conducted recce of his restaurant, office and house.” He said the weapon used in Abidi’s murder was also used in the killing of another man, Ehtisham, in Liaquatabad. He added that the investigators were trying to ascertain the motive behind the incident.Khawaja said Abidi had been receiving threats from the MQM-London, but, apparently paid killers were used for the murder. He said Bilal was among the shooters while Mustafa was on backup. He said the arrested suspects had no criminal record or affiliation with any political or religious party.Abidi was killed on December 25 last year in a drive-by attack outside his residence on Khayaban-e-Ghazi in DHA, where gunmen opened fire on his vehicle and sped away. He suffered shots in the head and the neck as soon as he got out of his car.

from The News International - Karachi https://ift.tt/2Hdw2G9
The News International - Karachi