Eye-witnesses Of Sahiwal Incident Refuse To Record Their Statements Before JIT

The eye-witnesses demanded that their statements be recorded at the scene of the incident instead of police line

Lahore (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 21st January, 2019) The eye-witnesses of Sahiwal encounter have refused to record their statements before the Joint Investigation team (JIT) formed to probe the incident.

The eye-witnesses demanded that their statements be recorded at the scene of the incident. They were called to Police Line Chung to record their statements.

Media reports said that the JIT observed the scene of the encounter in Sahiwal. Instead of recording the statements of eye-witnesses there, the JIT asked them to go to the police line. The eye-witnesses then refused to record their statements.

Sources said that the JIT left without recording statements of the locals.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Amjad Javed Salimi has formed a four-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT), headed by DIG Zulfiqar Hameed, to investigate the killing of four persons in Sahiwal in an alleged encounter by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).

According to the Police sources on Saturday, officers of secret services would also be members of the JIT.

The incident took place at Qadirabad where a team of CTD Lahore, taking action against a suspected car, shot dead two men and two women.

Later, the CTD team took the bodies, children and other valuables from the vehicle. However, the team later on dropped the children at a filling station.

With the alleged shady encounter on a highway in Sahiwal district, a big question mark was posed on the functioning of Punjab Police.

The victims were first declared as kidnappers and then as terrorists from a proscribed group by the police force, which raised eyebrows on the alleged shootout, followed by contradictory witnesses' narratives.

As the incident drew wide ire and condemnation, demands are being made for a thorough probe.