Motorway bus firing incident: Victims still wait for justice nearly three months on

Rawalpindi police say Motorway officials not cooperating

ISLAMABAD: The three people, who had been critically injured after Motorway Police officials opened fire on a runaway passenger bus near Islamabad, are still waiting for justice nearly three months after the incident.

The incident had drawn a lot of media attention after a video showing Motorway policemen firing on the runaway bus went viral on social media. But not much has been done since to investigate the matter and fix responsibility.

At least three people were left critically injured in the incident which took place near the Motorway toll plaza in Islamabad on May 29.

Gulfraz Khan, a passenger, who was shot in both of his legs and remains confined to a bed, has been unable to return to work and provide for his family.

“Both of my legs are broken. One has almost healed but the other will take more time [to heal],” Gulfraz told The Express Tribune.

“I have been on the bed ever since [the incident],” he added.

“I am the only breadwinner for my family. I have spent about Rs0.4 million on my treatment so far,” adds Gulfraz, who works as a welder in Jhelum but is currently living in a rented accommodation in Peshawar along with his wife, six daughters and three sons.

“All I demand is that those who shot me for no reason are arrested and punished for this. What was my crime? On whose orders did these officers open fire,” he asked.

Abdur Rehman, the conductor of the bus, was also critically injured in the incident, losing one of his eyes. Aadam, the bus manager, was also injured and remains bedridden.

“One of his lungs was damaged. He was operated upon and another procedure is also scheduled,” said Ghuncha Gul, the bus’ owner, of his bus manager.

Initially, the Motorway Police had claimed that the officers had responded to shots fired from the bus.

They had also claimed that the bus was carrying smuggled items.

However, the victims as well as local Rawalpindi police, who had reached the spot and took the bus into custody, said the bus neither carried any smuggled goods nor had anyone fired from inside the bus. “They [Motorway Police] did not signal the bus to pull over. Rather they had opened fire which frightened the driver who sped to a nearby exit to avoid being fired upon,” maintained Gulfraz.

The Motorway Police had subsequently suspended both its officers, SI Shahid Gul and SI Aitezaz, after the incident and ordered a departmental inquiry against them.

However, there has been no progress on the inquiry so far.

DSP Arbab Yawar Hayat, who was tasked with probing the incident, said that he had completed the inquiry but refused to share his findings.

The Rawalpindi police, which had registered an attempted murder case against the two motorway police officers on the complaint of the injured, too have made no progress on the case.

“The two officials are not appearing for questioning. We have written to IG Motorways. If they continue to evade the police inquiry, we will have to obtain warrants and arrest them,” said Nasir Mumtaz, a police officer at the Naseerabad police station who is tasked with investigating the case.

The motorway police had allegedly tried to submit a counter application, stating that the bus crew had resisted the attempts by its officers to pull over when signalled. However, the local police turned down their application, noting that first the two officials will have to appear and become a part of the official investigation before any supplication by them can be considered. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2018.