LAHORE – Police have arrested a prime suspect who was driving the vehicle that allegedly hit the PTI worker, Ali Bilal aka Zillay Shah, eventually resulting in his death.
The suspect identified from CCTV footage recorded when he along with another suspect dropped Zillay Shah’s body at a hospital the day police launched a crackdown against PTI workers gathering at Zaman park to participate in a party’s rally on Tuesday.
Following his death, PTI leaders including Imran Khan maintained that the party worker was arrested by the police and later tortured to death.
However, Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi and IGP Usman Anwar held a press conference, refuting the allegations of torture. They stressed that the PTI worker lost his life in a car accident. The top police officer also shared confessional statement of the driver, identified as Jahanzaib Nawaz, and other suspects during the presser.
In his statement, Jahanzaib said that he worked with a private company as a drive, adding that he was returning from a restaurant with his friend when his car hit Zillay Shah near Fortress Stadium bridge.
علی بلال کے قتل کے بعد راجہ شکیل سے بات کرنے والے گاڑی کے ڈرائیور کا آڈیو بیان پنجاب پولیس کی جانب سے جاری کر دیا گیا۔ pic.twitter.com/M3DAtCpTps
— Malik Ali Raza (@MalikAliiRaza) March 11, 2023
He said, “We took him to the CMH Hospital but there was rush of people and later we took him to the Services Hospital”. When the doctors examined him, they pronounced him dead, he said, adding: “We escaped from the hospital on hearing this and parked the vehicle at Waris Road”.
علی بلال کو ٹکر مارنے والی گاڑی میں موجود دوسرے شخص عمر فرید کا بیان pic.twitter.com/fG5zIur3Lw
— Malik Ali Raza (@MalikAliiRaza) March 11, 2023
Umar, who was present in the vehicle along with Jahanzaib, also shared the same story in his statement to the police.
PTI worker Ali Bilal died in road accident, not in police custody: Moshin Naqvi
