rawalpindi - A gang of criminals along with the team of newly launched Dolphin Force have harassed and detained the female staffers of Punjab Food Authority for trying to impose a fine on the owner of a bakery on Adiala Road for lack of cleanliness and sale of unhygienic edibles, informed sources on Thursday.

Police registered a case on complaint of Food Safety Officer PFA Saima Akram and began investigation, sources added.

The accused were identified as Raja Kamran, Shehzad Qureshi, Syed Ramzan Bukhari, Muhammad Rashid alias Sheeda and Zahid Mirza alias Zaidi. The names of the cops of Dolphin Force are yet to be ascertained by police, sources said.  They said that Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shehbaz Sharif has also taken strict notice of the manhandling and harassment of female members of PFA and instructed police to bring the accused to the book. Police launched a manhunt to round up the culprits involved in the heinous crime, sources said.

According to sources, Food Safety Officer PFA Saima Akram appeared before Police Station Saddar Bairooni and lodged complaint that she accompanied by her team members Qurat-ul-Ain and Wajiha Nazir had raided on Dhaka Sweets at Chungi Number 20 to check the quality of edibles and the hygiene levels in the kitchen when some men, impersonating as members of a media organization, stormed the bakery and hurled threats at her and her team. She added that the gang of men harassed them and recorded their video in mobile phones and tried to snatch their official cards.

“We got terrified and embarked in our official when the men attacked our vehicle, started smashing windowpanes and pulled the driver out of van,” she said. The criminals intercepted them again at Mubarak Lane with help of Dolphin Force patrolling team and detained them there. She added that the Dolphin Force and five men also summoned the owners of nearby food outlets, restaurants and hotels and bellowed slogans against PFA.

“These people have illegally detained us, wasted our time and barred us from imparting official duty,” she mentioned in application. She requested the police to register a case against accused and arrest them.  Police registered a case against the men under sections 506/501/500/347/341/186 of Pakistan Penal Court and The Punjab Food Authority Act 2011-31 and began investigation. A senior police officer, when contacted, said that CPO Israr Ahmed Khan Abbasi was informed about involvement of Dolphin Force patrolling team in the crime and assured that he would launch departmental action against them.