Five arrested after bikers ransack police office in Rawalpindi

Damage squad car, pelt stones

RAWALPINDI: Rumbling down the road on their fiery two-wheelers, around 80 bikers attacked a traffic police post at Chandni Chowk in Rawalpindi on Friday.

The outburst came after the police had arrested over 25 people for one-wheeling. Police were hauling in any teenaged biker after a traffic warden Sohail Shehzad was shot and injured by a veiled rider in the garrison city on Thursday.

While the operation was underway to arrest one-wheelers, gangs of bikers organised and attacked the traffic police post where their colleagues were booked. The youngsters damaged official vehicles and motorbikes parked at the check post while pelting it with stones and bricks.

Police at the check-post though maintained restraint and did not use force against the attackers.

However, they alerted their superiors about the attack and soon reinforcements arrived from New Town police along with Elite Force personnel and rounded up five of the attackers.

Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Rawalpindi, Yousaf Ali Shahid also reached the spot and supervised the operation.

A case was lodged against the detained suspects under anti-terrorism and relevant sections of the law.

Further investigations are underway while raids are being conducted to net the others involved in the brazen display of delinquency.

CTP had launched a grand operation against one-wheelers and 24 FIRs have been registered during Ramazan against 26 one-wheelers who were sent behind the bars.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2017.