KARACHI: Sindh Police made a key arrest in the extrajudicial killing of 27-year-old Naqeebullah Mehsud during a raid conducted on a tip-off in Quaidabad area of the city, sources privy to the development informed ARY News on Wednesday.
According to the sources, the police investigation team arrested constable Jameel Abbasi of Malir City police station during the raid.
Abbasi had been performing guard duty for Station House Officer (SHO) Shah Latif Town Amanullah Marwat, another absconding officer in the case.
The constable believed to be close to the absconding SHO Shah Latif. Former SSP Rao Anwar along with the SHO Shah Latif Town and 13 other policemen have been named as fugitive in Naqeebullah case.
The investigation team has sent the arrested constable to jail on judicial remand.
The investigators are still trying to trace the whereabouts of main accused former SSP Malir Rao Anwar who went to hiding after the murder incident.
Previously, the Ministry of Interior had put the name of suspended cop Rao Anwar on the Exit Control List (ECL) in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order.
In January, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) barred Anwar from fleeing the country amid ongoing court proceedings. Anwar was to board a Dubai-bound flight at the Benazir International Airport, Islamabad when he was stopped by the FIA officials.
On January 20, Inspector General of Police Sindh Allah Dino Khowaja suspended him from his post on the recommendation of the inquiry team tasked to investigate the killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud.
On January 13, Rao Anwar had claimed to have shot dead four members of the defunct Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in an encounter near Shah Latif Town in Karachi.
Family members of one of the killed terror suspects, Naqeebullah Mehsud, claimed that he was killed in a fake encounter, triggering widespread public outrage.