CTD registers FIR of Saddar blast FIR

Security agencies launch hunt for perpetrators

RAWALPINDI: The First Information Report (FIR) of Saddar blast, which claimed a life and left 15 injured, has been registered at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station on Saturday, while police and security agencies questioned hundreds of people in the area.

The case registered against unidentified suspects includes sections related to terrorism, murder, possessing explosive material, and damage to properties. The law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) and forensic teams have cordoned off the incident site for collecting evidence.

Around three-kilogrammes (kg) of explosive material was used in the improvised explosive device (IED) which was expertly fixed on a utility pole, officials said.

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The initial probe into the incident disclosed that the IED was made from locally available materials, showing that the perpetrators knew the art of making bombs. The investigation turned down the use of ball-bearings in the explosive material, adding that the damage could have been much more intense if bearings were used.

The security agencies have obtained closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras footages installed near the incident site. All the footage would be examined by the investigating teams.

Sources said that shops in Saddar bazaar would reopen from Sunday (today). They had been shut down as the site was cordoned off by the security agencies for the collection of evidence.

Moreover, two injured including 14-year-old Wali and 22-year-old Shamraiz are under treatment in critical condition. Sources in the hospital informed both of them have sustained injuries in the head. Meanwhile, other casualties are reported to be in a stable condition.

Search operation

As part of investigations, the Rawalpindi police carried out a search operation in the Saddar area and verified documents of over 300 people.

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The security teams inspected some 35 hotels in the operation. It was carried out under the supervision of Operations SSP Tariq Wilayat. Personnel of police Elite Force and policewomen also took part in it.

Police officials said that some 210 houses and 35 hotels, eateries and tea shops were inspected during the combing operation and documents of some 300 people were bio-metrically verified.

SSP said that the teams did not recover any sort of suspected material during the action. He added that the security teams carried out the operation to search for social evils. Wilayat said that scaremongering by terrorists could not demoralise the resolve of security agencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2020.