Usama Satti was deliberately killed, inquiry report reveals

PM Imran Khan orders the removal of SP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), SP Investigation on night duty and DSP night duty on the recommendation of judicial inquiry

Ahmed Subhan

January 13, 2021

A judicial inquiry into the death of Usama Satti shows he was deliberately killed by the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Squad
Police tried to hide evidence and turn it into a dacoity case, report adds
Rescue 1122 personnel trying to reach the site of the incident were provided with wrong location details, as per the report

ISLAMABAD: A judicial inquiry into the killing of 22-year-old man Usama Satti, carried out by the additional deputy commissioner Islamabad, has revealed that the young man was "shot from all directions and his death was not a mere accident."

According to the inquiry report, Satti was not shot by a single officer of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) as the police had earlier claimed. He suffered "multiple gunshots fired at him from all directions, which shows that the officers involved had every intention to kill him."

The report further added that the news of Usama's death was "deliberately hidden from his family for four hours and that the officers involved tried to sweep the matter under the rug".

"The officers tried to turn the incident into a dacoity case and kept senior officials in the dark," the report revealed, adding that "Rescue 1122 personnel trying to reach the site of the incident were repeatedly provided with the wrong location details."

Per the judicial inquiry report, the officers present at the site of the incident did not even take any pictures.

The deceased was not involved in any dacoity or criminal cases, the report said, adding that the duty officers "became part of the incident due to their irresponsible attitude".

"Shell casings recovered from the site of the incident were sent to the forensic labs after 72 hours," the report further detailed. "Usama's car was shot at 22 times."

The report said that officers who later reached the site of the incident also tried to "get rid of the evidence".

ATC court grants seven-day remand to five arrested officers

An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday granted further seven-day physical remand of five police personnel arrested in Satti's murder case and ordered to include the wireless operator into the investigation.

The accused Mudasir Iqbal, Shakeel Ahmed, Muhammad Mustafa, Saeed Ahmed and Iftikhar Ahmed were presented before the ATC by the police after their three-day physical remand.

The Investigation Officer (IO) Muhammad Azam informed the court that the official weapons had been withdrawn from the accused besides recording their statements by the joint investigation team (JIT).

PM Imran Khan orders removal of police officials

Following the recommendations of judicial inquiry, Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered the removal of several police officials, including the superintendent of police (SP) Anti-Terrorism Squad, SP Investigation on night duty, and the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) on night duty.

The Prime Minister has also directed departmental action against all the officers and personnel who have been removed from their posts.

The incident

According to police, 22-year-old Usama Nadeem was shot on Islamabad’s Srinagar Highway on Friday, January 1, reportedly after he "ignored police warnings to stop."

An Islamabad Police spokesperson had earlier said that the police were acting on a tip-off about a robbery attempt in Shams Colony. When the anti-terror squad reached the locality, they spotted a "suspicious vehicle" with tinted windows and asked it to pull over. When the driver failed to comply, the police "chased the vehicle and shot at its tires".