Trigger happy cops : Police injure father, son

Police say they opened fire on bikers for not stopping, victims deny claim

ISLAMABAD: Policemen opened fire and injured a father and his son who were riding a motorbike on IJP Road on Wednesday night.

Police later said that they had signaled the two to stop and opened fire only when they did not stop. The victims have vehemently denied this and sought action against the cop responsible.

Abdul Waheed, 55, was driving the motorbike with his son Ahsan Ali, 24, pillion riding on IJP Road near Katarian Bridge when they came under fire by the police at a U-turn. Police said two constables were snap-checking at the road and they opened fire after signalling the bikers to stop twice.

However, the victims’ family members told The Express Tribune that there was no barrier, no reflective cone or jackets which could distinguish the policemen standing in the dark. They said they were busy in changing lanes to take a U-turn on the busy thoroughfare when they were shot at.

Police also claimed that the two were driving on the wrong side of the road but family has denied this claim too. The constable who opened fire was identified as Yasir Iqbal.

IJP is the busiest and the messiest road in the twin cities with heavy traffic plying on it round the clock. It has no lights and has potholes the size of a motorbike tyre. Family says the cop fired four bullets which hit Ali in his right leg and right arm while his father was hit near his abdomen.

However, when they fell after being injured, the police took them to Pims hospital.

Police said two unidentified motorcyclists had opened fire on two police constables at the same spot a few days ago after which the checking had been increased on the road. “At the same place, two robbers had snatched valuables yesterday [Tuesday] and a number of heinous incidents have occurred at the same place,” a police spokesperson said after the incident.

However, different police officials narrated different versions after the incident. Some said the cop fire accidentally while others said he feared being attacked and fired pre-emptively.

“We thank God that both are alive. They could have been killed in the firing,” Waheed’s brother Farrukh Haneef said. Family said the police also snatched ID cards from the two victims after the incident. The family have submitted a complaint against the two constables with SSP-Operations as well as SHO Industrial Area but police have refused to take any action against the officials. “Nobody said anything when two policemen came under fire at the same spot a few days ago and now they are questioning why police opened fire,” an officer from the Sector I-9 police station said.

It is pertinent to note here that last year two motorists were killed by the capital police after allegedly they failed to stop when signalled. Four-men anti-terrorist patrol squad had shot dead Syed Inayat Hussain Shah, 60, while injuring Syed Ijaz Hussain Shah after what appeared to be a brief chase in Rawal Town on August 30, 2017.

Earlier on February 3, Taimur Riaz was shot dead after he failed to stop his car at a police picket near Sabzi Mandi in Sector I-10. 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2018.