Chechens were killed because they were unable to pay bribery

A Chechen (Daghistani) cum Tajik family was killed (in fact murdered) in Quetta because they were unable to pay a bribery of 50,000 Rs. to ASI Raza Khan.

The poor Chechen (Daghistani) cum Tajik family entered Pakistan from border of Iran and they hired a Suzuki Alto car for 1500 Rs. from Kuchlak to reach Quetta city in emergency because a young pregnant girl was in pain and she was accompanied by her husband, a brother and two sisters.

ASI Raza Khan stopped their car at the Airport Road check post and asked for 50,000 Rs to release them and told them that if they will not give him money than he will keep all of them in his private torture cell.

They gave him 100 $ and told ASI Raza Khan that they have only 160 $ and they need some money for hospital. ASI Raza, who was drunk at that time, told the Chechens that they can go to hospital but they must leave two Chechen girls with him and he will leave them after few days. The Chechens threw 100 $ near ASI Raza Khan and ran away from there in Alto car.

ASI Raza khan was angry and he used police wireless telephone and informed to all check posts that five suicide bombers are coming in white Alto car. 

After some time, the driver, Ata Muhammad, stopped the vehicle and refused to take them to Quetta. The Chechens stepped off the vehicle, offered prayers in a mosque in Killi Khezi and asked local people to guide them to an address.

But all of a sudden they found themselves surrounded by police and Frontier Corps personnel. Seeing this, the frightened Chechens moved to the nearby FC post, apparently to surrender or take refuge.

“They raised their hands as a gesture of surrender but law enforcement personnel opened indiscriminate fire at them” witness Irfan Khan alleged.

A private TV channel (Geo News) telecast the shooting by security personnel lead by Colonel Faisal Shazad of FC and an injured woman waving her hand and pleading with them to stop firing.

A senior police officer who had searched the bodies also said not even a knife had been found. “Only five passports were found in their pockets” he added. But it has been shown by private TV channel (ARY One World) telecast that the police officers looted the valuables like necklaces from the Chechen women as booty.

Moreover, Police Surgeon Dr Baqir Shah, who headed the team which carried out the autopsy at the Bolan Medical College here, that apparently the two men and the three women had died from "multiple bullet wounds".

He spelt more trouble for police when he said one of the women was seven months pregnant.

The woman received 10 bullet wounds on different parts of her body. “A 32-week baby girl was also found dead,” Dr. Shah said. It means that six, and not five, people were killed in the incident.

No splinter mark was found on the body of the pregnant woman, the doctor added. The woman’s age ranged between 25 and 28 years.

Five bullets were extracted from the body of another Chechen woman along with traces of splinters, Dr Shah said. And eight bullet wounds were seen on the body of the third woman.

The police surgeon said one bullet was extracted from the body of one of the two Chechen men who lost their lives in the shooting. Burn injuries were also seen on his body. The other man got two bullet wounds.

No bomb-related injury has been found on the bodies of anyone killed in the incident and all died from bullet injuries. It negates the police claim that the Chechens ‘terrorists’ died due to explosion of the suicide vests.

Also, a FC man identified as Lance Naik Mohammad Sajjad, who was performing his duty at the check post got injured, apparently by friendly firing from his offending comrades. A private TV channel showed Colonel Faisal as aiming and shooting indiscriminately towards the checkpoint, and it is suspected that it was his bullet which proved lethal for Lance Naik Sajjad. Sajjad was taken to CMH Quetta, where he succumbed to his injuries. The findings of his autopsy are not made public yet...

Update 13th June: Police Surgeon Dr. Baqir Shah has told the tribunal headed by Justice Mohammad Hasin Khan Kakar of Baluchistan High Court, for investigating the killing of foreigners that the victims had been hit by 56 bullets. And the bullets had damaged vital organs of the victims and that was the main cause of their death.

Van driver Ata Mohammad, a key witness, retracted his earlier statement and said that policemen who searched the bags of the foreigners found only books and three bottles of shampoo.

Update 15th June: The Chief Justice of Baluchistan High Court Qazi Faez Issa has took a suo motu notice and ordered CCPO Quetta and the SHO of City Police Station to submit the departmental inquiry report on next hearing against the two police officials involved in manhandling of Police Surgeon Dr. Baqir Shah.

Update 23rd June: The Russian government says that the Russian citizens deceased in the Kharotabad incident belonged to the Russian held state of Daghistan, instead of neighboring Russian occupied state of Chechnya.

Update 28th June: The tribunal formed on May 20 to probe Kharotabad incident under the supervision of Balochistan High Court Judge Justice Hashim Kakar has presented its report to the Balochistan government.

The report reveals that police and FC personnel were responsible for the killing of the five foreigners and has recommended that action be taken against them.

The report further states that the foreigners were killed due to firing and were not in possession of weapons or suicide jackets. However they had entered the country illegally.

Update 2nd August: The Investigation Committee of the Kharotabad tragedy has recommended departmental action under criminal act against CCPO Daud Janjua. The report states all officials present at the site of the Kharotabad tragedy should be investigated. 

Update 26th October: Police Officials involved in Kharotabad incident, SHO Airport Fazlal-ur-Rehman and ASI Raza Khan have been suspended by the police as per recommendations made in the Kharotabad tribunal report.

Update 29th December: Police Surgeon Dr. Baqir Shah, who did the autospy of the unfortunate Chechen (Daghistani) cum Tajik Family, has been assassinated in Quetta. It has been thought that the Police Officials are involved in it.