RAWALPINDI: A wanted criminal involved in kidnapping and torturing citizens was killed in an alleged encounter with the Punjab Police’s Crime Control Department (CCD), police reported on Saturday.
Bilal Abbas was facing multiple criminal cases, including kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking, and other serious offences, the CCD said.
Police stated that he was also involved in abducting people, subjecting them to brutal torture, and recording videos that were later shared on social media. He allegedly kidnapped citizens for ransom and forcibly took possession of their properties.
According to authorities, the accused was killed during a CCD operation carried out in Rawalpindi.
Earlier, on December 11, 2025, the Lahore High Court (LHC) sought replies from the Federal Investigation Agency and other respondents while hearing a petition against killings in alleged CCD encounters across Punjab.
A division bench summoned responses from the parties on a petition filed by Advocate Mian Dawood and other lawyers, with the next hearing scheduled for the third week of January.
The petitioners claimed that citizens have been killed in alleged police encounters across Punjab since January 2025, stating that around 1,100 people have lost their lives during this period.
“The superior judiciary has declared alleged encounters a violation of the Constitution and the law in various judgments,” the petition said, citing the recent killing of Advocate Zeeshan Shabbir Dhaddi in Vehari as an example.
The petition also argued that the FIA is legally required to conduct inquiries into custodial killings within 30 days, but despite the law being in place, no investigations have been carried out into such incidents, it added.