ISLAMABAD: A superintendent of police Rawalpindi allegedly manhandled officials of the capital police after being stopped at a picket and asked to furnish his identification.

Officers in the Islamabad police told Dawn that the SP also called his subordinates to the spot located in the capital territory and attempted to abduct them.

The matter was reported to senior officers and during a preliminarily investigation it transpired that the incident took place at a picket on Islamabad Expressway (towards Rawat) near Gulberg Green. A team of the capital police at a picket signaled a private vehicle to stop after spotting its two riders in plainclothes acting suspiciously.

After stopping the vehicle, one of the riders came out and used foul language against the police officials. When the officials asked him to behave, he got angry and asked how dare they flagged him to stop.

He then introduced himself as the SP Rawal Town Rawalpindi, they said, adding one of the officials of the capital police asked him to prove his identification and show his service card, on which he further flared up and got physical with him.

He then called officials of the Rawalpindi police who arrived at the spot located in the capital territory. The SP asked them to pick them (officials of the capital police) and take them to a police station in Rawalpindi and put them behind them bars and register a robbery case against them.

In response, one of the officials of the capital police took out his mobile phone and started filming, the officers said. The SP snatched the mobile from him and ordered his subordinates to snatch weapons from the others.

Later, the issue was brought in the knowledge of the SP rural and the SHO of the area who asked the officials to bring the incident in the notice of the senior officers.

The senior officers of Rawalpindi police were approached and the issue was brought in their knowledge. After some time, the Rawalpindi police came up with a claim that the officials of the capital police were looting people in the limits of Rawalpindi by establishing a picket and when the SP asked them to refrain from the practice the incident took place.

The officials of the capital police were forced to close the matter and delete video clips of the incident and the matter was amicably settled, the officers said. However, a short video clip of the incident went viral on social media.

When police officers were approached for comment, they said issue had already been settled.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...
Counterterrorism plan
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Counterterrorism plan

Lacunae in our counterterrorism efforts need to be plugged quickly.
Bullish stock market
23 Nov, 2024

Bullish stock market

NORMALLY, stock markets rise gradually. In recent months, however, Pakistan’s stock market has soared to one ...
Political misstep
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Political misstep

To drag a critical ally like Saudi Arabia into unfounded conspiracies is detrimental to Pakistan’s foreign policy.