Health department official who allegedly killed 41 people arrested in Karachi

Police on Sunday claimed to have arrested a government official in Karachi over charges of killing 41 people including officials of the education and excise departments, and police.

Other alleged victims of the suspect included members of supposed rival political groups.

Speaking at a press conference at his office, SSP East Azfar Mahesar said while acting on a tip-off, Bahadurabad police arrested the suspect, identified as Sajid alias Bona, off Sharea Faisal near the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) office and seized weapons and a stolen motorbike from his custody.

“He is an employee of Sindh government’s health department,” the SSP told reporters, terming him as a "dangerous target killer".

“The held suspect belonged to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London and committed heinous crimes under directions of the party leadership,” the officer claimed.

“He had been involved in these crimes since 1995, when he gunned down a police officer in Jamshed Quarters."

SSP Mahesar said the suspect’s alleged targeted killing team comprised 11 members who, according to the suspect, carried out the murders under the “directions of the sector and unit leaders of the party”.

In-Depth: Life of the party: How Altaf Hussain maintains support in Karachi

The officer said that one member of the hitmen team, Sagheer alias Moota, had fled to Dubai in 2013. Other accomplices, sector in-charge Asad Iqbal and Qadeer, also went underground in 2014.

One accomplice, Saleem alias Tension, was currently in jail while six of his associates had been killed at different times during ‘encounters’ with police and Rangers.

The hit squad had killed one of their accomplices, Nadeem Abbasi, over suspicions of him being an informer of the Sunni Tehreek.

The officer further revealed that the suspect was involved in 31 criminal cases which had been declared as ‘A-class’ by the police.

Among those he had killed were two policemen, a director of the education department and one excise department official.

Most of the killings took place in Jamshed Quarters and PIB Colony areas where the suspect had allegedly established a "reign of terror".

The SSP claimed that Sajid had used a "preaching party" as a cover as he used to go underground after committing the murders.

Meanwhile, Karachi police chief Dr Amir Ahmed Shaikh announced a Rs100,000 cash reward for the police party that successfully apprehended the suspect.