- WEB DESK
- August 30, 2026
Karachi police chief orders ‘impartial’ probe into DHA brawl, alleged police role
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- Monis Siraj
- August 30, 2026
KARACHI: Karachi police chief Additional Inspector General (AIG) Azad Khan has ordered a “complete and unbiased” inquiry into a violent altercation between two women at a residential building of an apartment building in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phase VI after CCTV footage showing the alleged involvement of police personnel went viral on social media.
The AIG directed Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Asad Raza to submit a report within three days, seeking facts about the incident as well as the alleged misconduct of police officials seen at the scene.
According to a police statement issued on Sunday, the inquiry will examine all aspects of the incident and identify those involved.
The latest directive comes a day after the DIG South had ordered an investigation into the episode, which reportedly took place on August 21 but came to public attention after CCTV footage emerged online.
The controversy centres on a confrontation between two women at an apartment building on Khayaban-e-Bukhari in DHA Phase VI.
One of the CCTV recordings appears to show a woman carrying an iron dumbbell down a staircase and repeatedly striking another woman with it.
Two men in what appear to be police uniforms can be seen at the scene, while another man subsequently arrives and appears to intervene.
In another sequence, the woman carrying the dumbbell and another man are seen approaching the apartment where the other woman and her brother had taken shelter.
The footage has raised questions about the conduct and presence of the police personnel during the confrontation.
A separate CCTV recording that later surfaced appears to show police personnel taking a young man away from the building.
A black double-cabin vehicle can also be seen in the footage. According to sources, the man was the brother of the woman who was allegedly assaulted.
The police have not yet publicly established the identities of all the personnel visible in the footage or determined why they were present at the apartment.
Police personnel allegedly from Korangi
The matter has become more controversial after police sources said the personnel visible in the footage did not belong to the South Zone, despite the incident taking place within the jurisdiction of Darakhshan police station.
According to police officials, the personnel are believed to be associated with the Korangi district, while the double-cabin vehicle seen in one of the videos was also not a South Zone police vehicle.
The identities and role of the personnel are now part of the inquiry.
Another video appears to show a plain-clothes man damaging a CCTV camera at the building.
Reports have suggested that he used a weapon to break the camera, while police sources have identified him as an alleged Korangi police official. These claims have yet to be conclusively established by the investigation.
The presence of a police official from another district has raised questions about who summoned the personnel to the apartment and what role they played during and after the confrontation.
Dispute reportedly followed parking row
According to sources cited, the dispute allegedly began over the parking of a vehicle in another resident’s designated parking space.
The affected family — a brother, his sister and their mother — had reportedly been living in the apartment building. The brother, identified in media reports as Ali Ahsan, said the family had been residing there since November 2021.
He also alleged that the dispute had developed with another female resident of the building over maintenance and other residential issues.
The woman accused of attacking the resident with a dumbbell has been identified by several local media reports as Maryam Ali Raza.
Police sources and residents have alleged that she is related to senior police officer.
The alleged relationship and claims of influence are among the matters that require verification and are now subject to the police inquiry. Reports have also quoted residents as making other allegations concerning her conduct within the apartment building, but these claims have not been independently established.
Victims allegedly booked after confrontation
The case took another turn after an FIR was registered against the brother and sister following the confrontation.
The two were reportedly arrested, with the original case including allegations relating to theft and snatching of gold jewellery.
However, investigators have since reviewed the available CCTV footage and said it did not support the initial allegations of snatching or theft.
The relevant sections have subsequently been removed from the case, while the challan has not yet been submitted to court pending completion of the inquiry
Police have said the investigation will also establish the circumstances in which the case was registered and determine whether any bias, irregularity or misconduct occurred.
DIG South Asad Raza had earlier directed SSP Investigation South Touheed-ur-Rehman to lead the inquiry.
Investigators are expected to record statements from people visible in the CCTV footage as well as the police personnel present at the scene, while examining the available recordings and other evidence.
Injured woman posts video statement
The controversy intensified after the alleged victim, identified as Noor-ul-Ain, posted a video statement on social media.
In the video, she appears injured and distressed and says she suffered bleeding from her nose and mouth, had her hair pulled and sustained an injury near her eye.
Her account forms part of the allegations surrounding the incident and has not yet been independently verified.
The family subsequently left the apartment and moved elsewhere, according to reports. They also submitted an application to Darakhshan police station concerning the incident.
AIG orders fresh report within three days
The latest intervention by AIG Azad Khan places the alleged role of the police at the centre of the investigation.
The Karachi police chief has specifically asked the DIG South to establish the facts surrounding the presence and conduct of police personnel and submit a report within three days.
The inquiry is also expected to determine who was involved in the confrontation, how the subsequent criminal case came to be registered and whether any police officer abused his position or acted improperly.
The police have stressed that the matter will be investigated on merit and that all available evidence, including CCTV footage and statements of those present, will be examined before responsibility is determined.
The case has drawn considerable attention because the footage appears to show police personnel present during a physical assault, followed by the removal and arrest of members of the family who say they were victims of the confrontation.
