Office of the zongo chief has rejected claims by police that seven person shot  on Tuesday were armed robbers.

It said having  found the "identities" of the victims, "their relations and families," it cannot accept the police report that suggests the seven are "armed robbers or bandits".

Police on Tuesday gunned down the seven persons near Anhwiakwanta, alleging they were among eight suspected masked men who shot of a fellow Police Officer ,Lance Corporal Daniel Teiku.

However, the acting Chief of the Sarkin Zongo Ahmed Rufai Alao in a statement on Wednesday,vehemently rejected the claims by the police,saying "the victims are educated and well-known in the community"

“It has come to the notice of the Sarkin Zongo Palace…that the seven persons shot by the police and whose bodies were displayed in the media are indigenes and sons of the Zongo community,” the statement read.

The statement added that they [Zongo authorities] are liaising with the family of the deceased to find ways to seek redress the right way.

We, therefore, appeal to the Zongo communities, particularly the youth in Ashanti Region and Kumasi, in particular, to remain calm and peaceful in these trying moments…” the statement cautioned.

“We appeal to everyone to remain calm and refrain from any activity that will escalate the tension and grief that has again befallen our community,” it added.

No automatic alt text available.

The police had mounted a search for an eight-member gang in mask,who are  alleged to have gunned down Lance Corporal Daniel Teiku, who was on duty with his colleague, Lance Corporal Eric Nsiah on July 11.

The bodies of the seven persons have been dispatched to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital morgue.

By Fiifi Abdul Malik/ghanaguardian.com