Sikh hakeem’s killing in Pak: Police scrutinise mobile data of 4,000 persons

Peshawar, October 11

Police have identified 4,000 persons and begun scrutinising their mobile data to trace the culprits who had shot dead a well-known Sikh ‘hakeem’ here last month.

Sardar Satnam Singh (Khalsa), who practised Unani medicine, was at his clinic when attackers barged into his cabin and opened fire, killing the 45-year-old instantly on September 30.

Four special investigation teams comprising 15 officials are working on this case. They are sharing intelligence, collecting mobile data, probing suspects, while the fourth team has been assigned the task to arrest suspects from Peshawar and other adjacent areas, authorities said.

The Islamic State’s terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate, dubbed Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), had claimed responsibility for his killing.

Based on the initial investigation, police have negated the notion of target killing, and are probing this case from different angles.

Police have questioned a person working at Singh’s clinic, and also collected data containing the names of his patients.

Singh, a well-known figure in the Sikh community, was running his clinic ‘Dharmandar Pharmacy’ on Charsadda Road in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

He had been living in the city for the past 20 years. About 15,000 Sikhs live in Peshawar, mostly in the Jogan Shah neighbourhood of the provincial capital. Most of the Sikh community members in Peshawar are involved in business, while some also run pharmacies. PTI

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.