Lal Masjid cleric, 54 others held in Bhara Kahu

ISLAMABAD:

Islamabad Police and Rangers arrested a Lal Masjid cleric along with 54 suspects and recovered a large number of unlicensed weapons during a search operation in Bhara Kahu on Tuesday.

According to sources, Lal Masjid’s Naib Khateeb Amir Siddique was held with a weapon but he was let off upon producing a licence.

Police said most of the suspects were arrested in possession of unlicensed weapons and illicit drugs, and some for having no identity proofs. Three Afghan nationals were also arrested for illegally staying in the country.



Cache of weapons recovered during the search operation included 26 guns, three rifles, 22 pistols, one revolver and 10 daggers. A total of 38 mobile phones and over 1kg drugs were also seized.

The search operation was conducted in Madina Town, Maira Begwal, Athal and PTV Colony areas. Bhara Kahu SHO Haq Nawaz Ranjha said over 300 houses were searched during the operation.

The suspects have been shifted to police stations for further investigation.

Woman booked for attempted suicide

Meanwhile, police have booked a woman for allegedly attempting suicide, which is a bailable offence under the Pakistan Penal Code.

The case against Sajida Bibi was registered by the Bani Gala police on April 24 on the complaint of the woman’s brother-in-law Akhlaq Hussain.

SI Tasadduq Hussain, who is investigation officer for the case, said the woman tried to commit suicide because she was fed up with her husband’s addiction to drugs.

He said the woman had also attempted suicide in the past and was struggling to feed her three children.



Car stolen from HEC parking lot

Meanwhile, unidentified persons stole a car from outside the main gate of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) on April 20. Akhtar Abaas, a teacher of English language at Air University, said he parked his Suzuki Mehran (RIA-2868) near the HEC gate but it was stolen when he returned after almost an hour.

Talking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday, he said the car was stolen despite the fact that there were around five guards on duty in the area. He said the police had failed to make any progress in the case in a week. “That car was my only asset that I managed to buy after a long struggle of two years,” he said.

ASI Zafar Iqbal, who is investigation officer for the case, said police were working to locate the car but had found no clue yet. Iqbal said he had passed on the information to anti-car lifting cells of police in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

“I have also visited the Safe City Project monitoring room but we have not found the car in the surveillance camera recordings,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th,  2016.