A 14-year-old Karachi youngster was shot dead in an alleged encounter, triggering protests by his relatives.
The incident took place in Karachi’s Orangi-5 area where Arsalan Mehsud was shot dead by police while his friend sustained bullet wounds.
After the incident took place, Mehsud’s relatives arrived at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and staged a sit-in protest to demand justice for the boy. Mehsud’s relatives rejected the police’s version, saying that he was a student and was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
“No firearm was recovered from Arsalan. Police killed him in a fake encounter,” members of the bereaved family stated.
Police had earlier claimed that they had tried to stop two men on a motorcycle at a picket. The two men, in response, opened fire instead of stopping, claimed police.
Police said one of the suspects died while his accomplice managed to escape. However, DIG West Nasif Aftab rejected the statement of the police officer who had shot at the victim, saying that the suspicious encounter did not take place at the picket. Rather, he said it took place at a distance from it.
