Amir Qayyum

Background

Amir Qayyum was described as a psychopathic drug addict who wanted to take revenge from society. His family members, including a brother and five sisters, confirmed his psychopathic behaviour, and his family abandoned him when he was a child. He lived with his maternal uncle Dr Shahid after being abandoned.

Unidentified people murdered Dr Shahid and a friend on September 25, 2003. Qayyum said he was taking revenge of his uncle’s murder from society because, according to him, his family got scattered.

Qayyum was thrown out of school for his violent behaviour, and his brother and sisters threw him out of the house because he would beat them up. The SSP said that psychiatrists were helping police sketch Qayyum’s state of mind. City police refused to get a psychologist to evaluate him, and SSP (Operations) Aamir Zulfiqar said the suspect showed no symptoms of madness and did not need a psychological evaluation, though he later contradicted himself by calling Qayyum a “psycho”.

Police investigators described Qayyum as “cold blooded killer” and said he had no guilt about his crimes. They said he would play cricket after murdering a person and that he confessed to all the killings. Investigators also said Qayyum’s clothes were stained with blood and that some other evidence from his house had been sent for DNA tests.

Police claimed Qayyum bashed his victims’ heads in with large stones weighing up to 35 kilograms and said he could lift a 35 kilogram stone “in a fit of rage”.

Police also claimed that Qayyum stated the motive for his murders as “revenge from society” for the murder of his maternal uncle Dr Shahid on September 25, 2003. The SSP said the police arrested a suspect for the murder of Dr Shahid on February 28, 2004, but he died in custody in suspicious circumstances. The police claimed Hafiz Abid shot himself in a police van by taking a gun from a constable who was asleep, even though the suspect’s hands were cuffed behind his back at the time, and his death was officially put down as suicide.

The offence

Police said Qayyum killed homeless people in Lahore by bludgeoning them to death with bricks or stones while they were sleeping. The police said the killings involved 14 homeless people killed while two were seriously injured, and that Qayyum admitted being behind 16 incidents in which 14 people were killed while two were seriously injured.

Police said the killings spread fear and panic among the 200,000 homeless people in Pakistan’s second-largest city. The BBC said the murders took place at almost regular intervals in 2005, and that the victims were mostly labourers who slept rough on the streets and were hit with rocks or bricks as they slept. The BBC said Qayyum was also charged with bludgeoning to death 12 other people, with verdicts expected next week. It also said a 14th suspected murder was not considered by the court because officials said the body is “untraceable”.

In an incident described by police, Qayyum acted alone and tried to take a large stone from a chained condition after seeing a person sleeping on the footpath, but left the man alone. He then walked to another area and killed a sleeping man at about 2:30am by picking up a large stone. Police also said that after that he boarded a wagon and went to the Rang Mahal area.

Police said that while in that area Qayyum saw Ishtiaq sleeping on the footpath, picked up a stone and hit the sleeping man with it. Police said private security guard Abdul Wakeel Khan saw Qayyum, started screaming for help, and tried to catch him, but Qayyum managed to escape. Police said Qayyum later took out everything that could identify his victims to make investigations more difficult.

In relation to his use of stones and the motive, the SSP said Qayyum answered a question about why he attacked his victims with stones: “When there are weapons available on the road, why spend money?” Police said investigators found stones weighing 10 kilogrammes to 35 kilogrammes from every crime spot.

Investigation

SSP (Operations) Aamir Zulfiqar said police caught the alleged killer of 14 homeless people early Tuesday morning from Azam Cloth Market with Lahore Police’s cooperation. After the arrest, the SSP and SP immediately got to the area and took Qayyum to an unknown location for investigation.

Police investigators said Qayyum appeared mentally deranged and killed for the sake of revenge. They said psychiatrists were helping police sketch his state of mind, and they described him as “a psycho” who could act alone.

The SP said that Qayyum’s family members confirmed his psychopathic behaviour and that psychiatrists were helping police sketch his state of mind. The SP said Aamir acted alone and that psychiatrists were helping police sketch Aamir’s state of mind.

The SSP and SP provided details about the suspect’s route and activities on the night described in the investigation. They said Qayyum walked towards United Christian Hospital (UCH) at about 11:00pm on Monday (July 18), saw a person sleeping on the footpath, tried lifting a large stone that was chained, and left the man alone. After that he walked to Kalma Chowk where he had dinner at a roadside hotel. They said he then walked towards Nasserabad where he saw another person sleeping on the footpath, picked up a large stone, and killed the man at about 2:30am. They said later he boarded a wagon and got to the Rang Mahal area.

The SSP and SP described how he attacked Ishtiaq and how the incident was witnessed by private security guard Abdul Wakeel Khan and others. The SSP said that Ahsan Khan, who lived close by, came out of his house and grabbed Qayyum. The SP said policemen patrolling the area reached the spot and immediately informed senior police officials of the catch.

The SP said Ishtiaq was taken to hospital in serious condition.

The SSP also said Qayyum lived a very simple life. The SP said that before killing the unidentified person in Nasserabad he earned Rs 130 by washing cars at Liberty Market and spent Rs 15 on dinner.

The SP said Qayyum was a drug addict and was arrested a year ago by Gujjarpura Police. The SP also said Qayyum used to live in a rented room in the Shadbagh area.

City police refused to obtain a psychologist to evaluate the suspect. SSP Zulfiqar said Qayyum was a “cold blooded killer” who had no guilt about his crimes and he confessed to the killings. The SSP (Investigations) Chaudhry Shafqat Ahmad said that a psychoanalysis might work out in favour of the suspect as he could then plead insanity in his trial. Psychiatrists said analysis was important to ascertain motive and could help future investigations; Prof Dr Haroon Rasheed said: “A psychological assessment of this serial killer is very important to finding the reasons for his killings,” Dr Saima Niaz said: “Psychoanalysis of serial killers can help police in future investigations of serial murders,” and she added: “It is also important to assess whether he has done it or whether the police have forced him to confess,”.

Arrest

Police said Qayyum was arrested after being caught while trying to escape following the attack on a sleeping homeless man. The Reuters report said a senior police officer told Reuters that the suspect, identified only as Aamir, was arrested on Monday night and had confessed to the killings. It said the suspect appeared mentally deranged.

Superintendent of Police Dr Usman Anwar said: “We caught him last night while he was trying to escape after hitting a homeless man, who was sleeping, with a brick,” and he also said: “He has a history of violence and is the only brother of five sisters who claim he is also frequently violent with them and is a psychopath,”.

The BBC described that Qayyum was sentenced to death in May 2006 and said he was arrested in July the previous year. Police statements in July 2005 said he was arrested early Tuesday morning and that he was taken to an unknown location for investigation.

In relation to the immediate capture, private security guard Abdul Wakeel Khan said: “I was on routine patrol when I saw a man pick up a stone and hit a sleeping man on the head. I immediately caught the culprit from his arm and shouted ‘killer, killer’, but the culprit managed to escape my grip and fled. I screamed again and started chasing him when plainclothes policemen joined me.”

Ahsan Khan said: “I heard the guard screaming and immediately came out of my house with my brother. I saw a man was running at me with the guard and other people chasing and screaming ‘he is a killer, catch him’. I caught the culprit and the guard and others came and helped me.”

Trial

An anti-terrorism court in the Pakistani city of Lahore sentenced Qayyum to death in May 2006 for murder. The BBC stated that Qayyum was also charged with bludgeoning to death 12 other people, and that verdicts were expected next week.

The BBC stated that the victims were mostly labourers who slept rough on the streets and were hit with rocks or bricks as they slept. It also stated that a 14th suspected murder was not considered by the court because officials said the body is “untraceable”.

Sentencing

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced Qayyum to death in May 2006.

The BBC described Qayyum as “a violence-prone person” who killed to avenge his uncle’s murder nearly three years ago, and said the verdict concerned the convicted alleged serial killer for murder.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Qayyum was sentenced to death in May 2006.

Aftermath

The killings since June 28 in Lahore spread fear and panic among the 200,000 homeless people in Pakistan’s second-largest city. The BBC said the case of a 14th suspected murder was not considered because the body was “untraceable”.

The Reuters report noted that last year 15 homeless people were killed in Lahore by being bludgeoned with bricks before police arrested three men, and that one suspect confessed to killing 11 people and was sentenced to death, while the other two were released due to lack of evidence.

The Reuters report quoted Usman as having asked why he used bricks and he replied: “When such free weapons are available on the road, why spend money?”

The BBC referenced Javed Iqbal, stating that Pakistan’s worst modern-day serial killer was Javed Iqbal, who in 1999 confessed to murdering 100 children and dissolving their remains in acid to avenge having been beaten by police.

The Reuters report said that the man Qayyum had attacked when he was caught survived.