CHAKWAL(National Times)- An inquiry into the killing of nine-year-old Australian national Hania Ahmed has found a Crime Control Department (CCD) Punjab constable guilty, concluding that he opened indiscriminate fire on a car without prior permission from senior officers.
The incident took place on the night of June 10-11 outside the CCD police station in Chakwal city. Adeel Ahmed, an Australian national, his wife and two minor children were being robbed by two armed men when the constable fired at Adeel’s car.
Hania was killed, while both Adeel and his son Afan were injured.
On June 18, CCD Chief Additional IG Sohail Zafar Chatha and Punjab Police IG Abdul Karim told a joint press conference in Lahore that the inquiry would be completed within a week. However, the report was submitted to the prosecutor’s office as a challan on July 28.
The 200-page report, obtained by Dawn, said the investigation was conducted by CCD Chakwal Sub-Inspector Muhammad Irfan.
According to the report, the accused constable stated that he was standing near the main gate of the CCD police station when he heard noise outside. He said he saw two armed men robbing a white car at the western corner of the station.
“On seeing me, one armed person fired at me with a pistol and I also fired towards the robbers,” he stated. “To save myself from the firing I took cover behind a wall. Meanwhile, the car sped away towards Islamia Chowk and I took a lift on a private motorcycle and went after the car but could not find the car.”
However, Duty Officer Inspector Jahanzeb Khan rejected the constable’s version. He told investigators that the constable fired from the official SMG without permission from him or any senior officer and chased the car on a private motorcycle, also without permission. Three other officials present at the station at the time corroborated Inspector Khan’s statement.
The inquiry declared the constable’s claim of acting in private defence “completely wrong and contrary to facts”. It noted that 14 pistol bullet casings and 13 Kalashnikov casings were recovered from the scene.
Thirty-four witnesses were included in the report. One of them, Ahmed Nawaz of Mohalla Circular Road, said he knew the constable. He told investigators he was returning home after offering a funeral prayer at nearby Sarpak Ground when he reached the CCD police station and saw the constable standing outside with a Kalashnikov.
“He fired 12 to 14 shots one after another at a car going ahead,” Ahmed Nawaz stated. He later learnt that the family in the car was related to him.
The report added that a final opinion from the Punjab Forensic Science Agency regarding the bullets that hit Hania, Adeel and Afan, and the blood samples, has not yet been received. A police officer said that due to court holidays in August, the formal trial was expected to begin in September.
