LAHORE - Three policemen, who intercepted the car of a provincial minister in Lahore’s Ghalib Market early last month, were booked by police in a criminal case and sent to the lockup on Monday.
Constables Nadeem Iqbal, Usman Saeed and Usman Iqbal had developed a dispute with the son of provincial minister Mian Mahmoodur Rashid when they were on patrol in the Ghalib Market area.
Earlier, the police had registered a criminal case against the minister’s son and his several friends who attacked the policemen. Hassan Rashid, the minister’s son, was caught with a girl in semi-naked condition near a busy crossing in Gulberg. According to police, the minister’s son was under the heavy influence of liquor. During initial investigations, the police found that the car was registered in the name of the minister.
The minister’s son and his friends also snatched away official rifles, wireless sets, and mobile phones from the policemen who were on night patrol in the posh locality. Reportedly, the son of the powerful minister and his friends got infuriated and attacked the police soon after the cops intercepted the car during routine checking.
When the policemen had asked the ‘couple’ to go to the police station they abused the on-duty policemen and called some friends by phone. In the meantime, at least four to five unidentified men appeared there within no time. They abused, thrashed, and kidnapped the policemen while the girl and the minister’s son managed to escape from the scene, leaving the car alongside the road.
The FIR against minister’s son and his friends was registered by police under section 382, 365, 353, 186, 148, 147 of the Pakistan Penal Code. As per that FIR, the policemen were on patrol near LDA Park when they noticed a girl and a boy in semi-naked condition inside a car. “When they were asked to go to the police station, they started abusing policemen. Two more cars reached the site within a few minutes to rescue the couple,” the police report said.
On Monday, three policemen were sent to the lockup after registration of a criminal case against them. However, the minister’s son and his accomplices were never arrested by police. They had secured pre-arrest bail to join the police investigation.
One of the policemen told reporters that they were being punished by senior officers because of political pressure. He said that they were on duty when they were assaulted and abducted by the attackers. But, the police registered a criminal case against them instead of arresting the real culprits.
On the other hand, a police spokesman claimed that “On 02-10-18, three police stopped a car (AGH-890) for checking in Ghalib Market. There was a young boy with lady in that car.”
The young boy offered resistance and called his friends who kidnapped and subjected the policemen to brutal torture. So, an FIR (No 923/18) of the incident was registered and investigation was launched.
“During investigation, it was learnt that these policemen used to make video clips of such ‘couples’ to blackmail them and to extort money from them. Investigation officer has been directed to initiate regular inquiry against the policemen,” the spokesman said.
He further said that a chance would be provided to the policemen so that they would submit their replies properly. “Moreover, another investigation has been initiated (against minister’s son) to investigate the kidnapping incident of the policemen. Thus, there was no pressure on the Lahore Police and 100 percent merit will be ensured during the investigation,” the spokesman said.
