LAHORE: Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Bilal Siddique Kamyana says special teams have been formed to trace and arrest the killers of Constable Arshad Rauf.

Vowing that the killers would be brought to justice, he emphasized that the blood of Rauf would not go in vain. The police department was committed to the welfare of the families of martyrs and the well-being of Rauf’s family would be a priority, he added.

Constable Rauf of Muhafiz police was shot dead allegedly by two motorcyclists at Islampura on Saturday.

Constables Rauf, Nazir, Yaseen, Imran and Umer Khalil were carrying out routine patrol in Sant Nagar when they signalled two motorcyclists coming from Taj Company side to stop. The motorcyclists did not stop and fled towards Sanda Stop while the policemen started chasing them. The policemen tried to encircle the motorcyclists but they opened fire. As a result, Constable Rauf suffered bullet wounds in his chest and fell on the ground while the motorcyclists escaped.

Rauf was shifted to hospital for treatment where he succumbed to injuries.

Islampura police registered a murder case on terrorism charges against the unidentified suspects and started investigation.

Constable Rauf, a resident of Wandala Road, Shahdara, had joined the police department in 2016. He is survived by four sisters and three brothers.

The funeral prayers for the martyred constable were held at Police Lines Qila Gujjar Singh on Sunday. The ceremony was attended by IGP Dr Usman Anwar, CCPO Bilal Siddique Kamyana, DIG (Investigations) Zeeshan Asghar, DIG (Organized Crime Unit) Imran Kishwar, DIG (Operations) Faisal Kamran, SSP (Operations) Tassawar Iqbal, SP (Security) Abdul Wahab, SP (Headquarters) Zunair Cheema and other officers.

Later, IGP Anwar held a meeting with the martyred constable’s family, including his brothers, and assured them of full cooperation and support. He said Rauf sacrificed his life in the line of duty and his sacrifice would not be forgotten. He said the welfare of Rauf’s family would be fully ensured as Punjab Police. The IGP sought a report from the CCPO Lahore and directed the officers to arrest the suspects involved in killing Rauf. He instructed the DIG Operations to ensure the immediate arrest of the suspects involved in the incident.

The CCPO Lahore paid tributes to the martyr by offering a salute and laying a floral wreath on his body.

A prayer was held for Constable Rauf and a police contingent honoured him with a salute. To date, 338 police officers and personnel from the Lahore police have been martyred in the line of duty.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2024