Hit and run: Police reluctant to arrest ruling party MNA

Rohail Asghar was booked on Feb 20 for allegedly killing a security guard

ISLAMABAD: The capital police seem reluctant to arrest a ruling party parliamentarian who was booked for allegedly killing a man.

On February 20, the Kohsar police booked MNA Sheikh Rohail Asghar for allegedly killing Raz Muhammad, a security guard, in a road accident. Since then, the police seem reluctant or uninterested in arresting the legislator, according to a police official, who requested anonymity.

The FIR was registered on the order of an additional district and sessions judge after the victim’s wife moved the court saying that the police were not registering the case against the MNA.

Asghar was elected a member the lower house of parliament from NA-124, a constituency of Lahore.

The security guard’s family informed the court that the deceased was heading home when a car bearing a government registration plate struck and killed him near Blue Area on August 10, 2014.

Asghar had denied the charge and claimed the car was being driven by his driver the security guard was hit.

Sources in the police said the lawmaker left the city as the FIR was registered against him. Asghar is currently residing in the MNA Lodges.

The Kohsar police station SHO told The Express Tribune that the police will follow procedure and send a formal request to the National Assembly Speaker in order to make the arrest.

“Without following legal procedure, the police cannot arrest the lawmaker,” the SHO maintained.

When contacted, SP (City) Rizwan Gondal claimed that the matter was being investigated. The police will collect evidence in the case. The official claimed that so far the lawmaker had asserted that he was not driving the car, and had been wrongly implicated in this case. The official added that the police will investigate the matter from every angle.

Last year, Asghar’s son was arrested for assaulting a security guard in Lahore. He was later granted bail against security bonds worth Rs50,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd,  2016.