LAHORE - Police arrested at least 218 members of different banned outfits for illegally collecting hides of sacrificial animals during Eid days.
A police spokesman on Friday claimed the police launched Punjab-wide crackdown against individuals for illegally collecting hides of sacrificial animals. The operation was ordered by Punjab Police Inspector General Kaleem Imam to stop defunct organizations from collecting hides of animals on Eid-ul-Azha. “During the last two days, 218 individuals of defunct organizations have been arrested. Police registered at least 269 cases against them,” the spokesman said on Friday. At least 54 people were arrested in Gujranwala region, 33 in Sargodha, 30 in Multan, 24 in Sahiwal, 21 in Bahawalpur, 19 in Lahore, 15 in Faisalabad, 14 in DG Khan and 8 individuals were arrested from Sheikhupura police region. Similarly, the police registered at least 12 criminal cases and arrested 15 motorcyclists for violating the ban on one-wheeling. The police also seized 10 motorcycles. During Eid holiday, thousands of police were deployed on security duties across the province the guard religious places, shopping malls, markets and other public places.
The police also intensified armed patrolling in big cities as part of the security strategy.