The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the high-profile Ameer Balaj Tipu murder case has declared Khawaja Aqeel alias Gogi Butt guilty, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

Investigators allege that Gogi Butt was in close contact with the main accused, Teefi Butt, and played a key role in planning the assassination.

Gogi Butt’s alleged role in Ameer Balaj Tipu’s killing

According to JIT sources, Gogi Butt not only maintained contact with the prime suspect Teefi Butt but also actively planned the murder of Ameer Balaj Tipu. Officials further revealed that he was a named accused in multiple previous murder cases involving the Tipu family.

Also Read: Tipu Truckanwala's son Balaj shot dead in Lahore

The JIT will move the court in the next hearing to seek cancellation of Gogi Butt’s bail. Investigators say he had absconded after the killing of Ameer Balaj, raising further suspicions about his involvement.

Other accused still at large

Sources added that Teefi Butt remains a declared absconder in the same case, highlighting gaps in the arrest of all suspects linked to the Tipu family feud.

On Feb 19, 2024, Ameer Balaj Tipu, the son of Arif Ameer, also known as Tipu Truckanwala, was shot dead in an alleged targeted killing in the Chuhng area of Lahore. Police claimed that Balaj, aged in his early 30s, was attending the wedding ceremony of a former DPS's son in a residential society in Chuhng when an armed man opened fire on him, injuring him critically.

Three other men accompanying Balaj were also injured, as per the police. However, due to retaliatory fire by Balaj's gunmen, the assailant was also killed.

Media reports quoted doctors as saying that he received four bullet wounds in his chest and died due to excessive bleeding.

According to police reports, on the night of the murder, the two individuals allegedly connected to the case, Tareef Butt alias Teefi Butt and Gogi Butt, were located in different cities. Police claim that Teefi Butt fled abroad from Karachi, while Gogi Butt was present in Lahore.