RAWALPINDI: A police official was killed and another injured after a motorcyclist opened fire on them at a checkpoint on Saidpur Road on Saturday night.

Police have yet to establish the motive behind the shooting but suspect that the attackers could be criminal elements.

Head constable Mohammad Arif and constable Wajid Hussain were on duty at the picket when they signaled two men riding a motorcycle to stop.

When the police asked the bike riders to produce their identity cards, they first tried to speed away but then stopped.

The pillion rider then pulled out a pistol and shot the two officials.

Head constable Arif, who was in his 30s, died on the spot as he was shot in the head. The injured constable was shifted to the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) where he was stated to be out of danger.

The police said Arif, who belonged to Chontra village, had joined the department in 2007 as a constable. He is survived by his parents, widow and four children.

City Police Officer (CPO) Abbas Ahsan visited the crime scene and then the HFH to inquire after the condition of the constable.

The Banni police have registered a case under the terrorism act and launched an investigation.

The funeral prayer of the deceased was held at the Police Lines Headquarters and attended by the CPO and other senior police officers. The body was later sent to the native town of the deceased for burial.

Meanwhile, police are investigating a letter released on the social media by a hitherto unknown organisation claiming responsibility for the attack on the two police officials.

The letter claimed that the killing of the police official was an extension of the organisation’s strikes in Karachi and Lahore.

A security official said no such organisation had been on the police record but the police had launched an investigation to ascertain the facts behind the murder of the official.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2018