GUJRAT: A senior police officer has been tasked with conducting an inquiry into an alleged fake encounter by the Rehmania police that had claimed that a suspect who was in custody had been killed in firing by his own accomplices near Dinga around a week ago.

Gujrat investigation Superintendent of Police (SP) Riaz Ahmed has been assigned the probe into the killing of Sufian Qasim alias Billa Butt on April 21 the last during an alleged encounter.

The inquiry was ordered on the demand of the family of the victim and the civil society.

Official sources say that earlier a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) had been assigned the inquiry, but nowDistrict Police Officer (DPO) Ahmed Nawaz has ordered the SP investigation to conduct the probe.

As per the Rehmania police, Station House Officer Sub Inspector Ahmed Hassan, along his team was taking the suspect to Fatta Bhand village near Dinga in a police vehicle to recover a stolen motorbike, when five unidentified armed men opened fire on them, which was retaliated by the police.

The police said that during the crossfire, the assailants snatched the suspect from them, and he was later found killed allegedly in the firing of his own accomplices, who managed to flee the scene.

Rehmania police had arrested the suspect in connection with a case of cattle theft and firing on police on February 25 the last duringrecovery of the stolen livestock from an outhouse atDhero Gunna village on the outskirts of Gujrat city.

The sources said the recovered cattle belonged to a maternal uncle of Rehmania police SHO and were stolen from Mandi Bahauddin area.

They said later on police`s pressure, the suspect, who belonged to a poor family, had been presented before the SHO through intervention of a former chairman of union council around a month ago.

The deceased suspect had been the only son of a widow and was brother of five sisters.

The family of the deceased and other locals had urged the Punjab government and inspector general of police to take notice of the incident as all the officials, including the SHO, involved in the `fake encounter` were still serving on thesame positions. The family had also demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident.

Adding they said that the police highhandedness should be curbed for the safety of ordinary citizens.

The Punjab government had transferred the Gujrat DPO Asad Muzaffar the same day the encounter was held.

Some sections of the media had linked DPO`s transfer with the encounter and a case of misconduct and physical torture of a suspect by the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) police in Gujrat.

However, well-placed sources say Mr Muzaffar had been transferred on the complaint of a senior PML-Q leader who was related to the caretaker chief minister and the new DPO, Ahmed Nawaz, was also appointed on the recommendation of the same political figure.