KARACHI: A murder case was registered against four policemen on Sunday for allegedly killing a young man in a fake encounter. “A murder case has been registered against all the four cops who participated in the encounter,” Shahrah-e-Faisal SHO Ali Hassan said. The case was registered following a court directive. Maqsood, 27, had been shot dead near PAF Base on Shahrah-e-Faisal on January 20. The policemen involved in the encounter had claimed that Maqsood was a criminal. However, hours later they retracted their statement. They then said that Maqsood was an “innocent’ citizen” who had been killed due to the shots fired by fleeing criminals. Police claimed that two suspects, Ali and Babar, had also been arrested during the encounter and one of their accomplices Ibrahim had managed to escape. “The suspects were involved in several street crimes. They used to target people coming from the Karachi Airport,” police said. Following the incident, family members of the victim reached the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The victim’s family had also appealed to the prime minister as well as the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of the murder. The family moved court after police refused to register a case. The court then ordered police to register a murder case against the four cops, including ASI Tariq Khan and three constables Akram Khan, Abdul Waheed and Shaukat. They have also been arrested. Published in Daily Times, February 19th 2018.