Rawalpindi police on Monday claimed to have foiled an alleged contract killing attempt and arrested four suspected hired assassins during a targeted operation on Peshawar Road, officials said.
Operation Details
According to police, the suspects had travelled from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Rawalpindi with an alleged plan to abduct and kill a man on behalf of a rival group for a reported contract worth Rs5 million. Police said the operation was conducted during routine patrolling near a restaurant on Peshawar Road when officers intercepted a suspicious white Toyota Corolla.
The vehicle, bearing a fake registration plate (CZN-572 ICT), was signalled to stop near Golra Mor. On checking, officers recovered a 30-bore pistol along with four live rounds from one of the occupants identified as Nabeel Akhter, son of Muhammad Azim, a resident of Abbottabad. He failed to produce a valid weapon licence or vehicle documents.
Recoveries and Arrests
The vehicle’s original registration was later traced as BUD-428, police said, adding that two vehicles used by the suspects were taken into custody along with weapons and cash amounting to Rs400,000.
Following initial interrogation, police said the accused disclosed details of a wider network and motive linked to an old murder case. They claimed that the killing of a man named Jahangir Khan alias Baba, a resident of Sarai Saleh in Haripur, had taken place around one and a half to two years ago, and that one of the suspects involved in that case was currently in jail.
Motive and Conspiracy
Police sources said that, according to the disclosure, Jahangir Khan’s son allegedly hired the suspects to kill another individual, Saif-ur-Rehman, who had been residing in Gulistan Colony, Rawalpindi. A contract of Rs5 million was allegedly agreed, with Rs2 million paid in advance and the remaining Rs3 million to be paid after completion of the alleged killing.
The arrested suspect further allegedly revealed the identities of his accomplices, identified as Akhtar Zaman, Shabbir Hussain Shah and Tariq Mehmood, who were later apprehended from a second vehicle near the Chishtiaabad service road. Police said weapons and additional material were recovered from the second vehicle as well.
Legal Proceedings
An FIR has been registered under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420, 468, 471 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Further investigation is underway.
