An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) enroute to election duty for NA-133 byelection died in a road accident in Green Town on Sunday.
ASI Babar, who was about to get married in two months, had been deputed at Hanjarwal police station had left his house on a motorcycle for duty. As he reached Ayub Chowk, a speeding car hit his two-wheeler. The fatal accident claimed his life on the spot.
Police registered a case and started the search for the driver. SP Iqbal Town Raza Tanveer visited his house and offered condolences to the family. His funeral prayers were offered at Qila Gujjar Singh police lines that were attended by IG Punjab Rao Sardar and CCPO Lahore Fayyaz Dev among other officers. The officers met with the aggrieved family. IG Rao Sardar expressed his grief and vowed full support and promised welfare measures by Lahore Police.
During the elections day, an incident of scuffle was reported between then workers of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) at Block One, Mariam Colony, Green Town. The workers clashed with each other invoked after a minor issue. They tried to beat each other up, hurled slogans and manhandled each other. A heavy contingent of police responded to the situation and dispersed them.
Other than two unpleasant incidents, the election process remained largely peaceful in the constituency. “Lahore Police had devised a comprehensive security plan for the safety of polling stations ahead of citizens and polling staff,” said Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Fayyaz Ahmad Dev. He supervised all the security arrangements, he said. “No one was allowed to take the law into their hands and disturb the polling process as the code of conduct of the Election Commission of Pakistan was strictly enforced in letter and spirits, he added.
Over 2,000 police officers and officials including six SSPs, 14 SDPOs, 44 SHOs were deployed on security duty at by-elections day. Moreover 52 teams of Dolphin Squad and Police Response Unit, as well as seven teams of Quick Response Force, also ensured effective patrolling around the polling stations. The Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) made full use of closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) installed by the Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) as well as the district government in different parts of the constituency to maximise monitoring and surveillance.
Meanwhile, senior police officers included SSP of Model Town, Cantt and Sadar division personally visited the polling stations falling in the constituency and inspected the security arrangements. The officers briefed the subordinate staff to remain highly alert and do not let any irrelevant person or vehicle enter the premises without thorough checking.
The senior police officers constantly monitored the security arrangements while either on patrol or through the control room. Police had cordoned off areas surrounding polling stations and used barricades, barbed wires and tents for this purpose. A special control room was also been set up at Government Graduate College for Women’s Township where teams of police, district government and law enforcement agencies will continuously monitor the polling process.
The voters were allowed to enter the polling stations only after a complete body search through three tiers checking mechanism. Snipers on the rooftops of high rise buildings around the polling station kept a close eye on suspicious persons or activities. Parking and polling camps were kept at a safe distance away from the polling stations. Police used security gadgets including fences, metal detectors, walk-through gates, barriers and barbed for security purposes.
As many as 254 polling stations had been set up for the polling process of NA-133 including 22 polling stations of A category, 198 of B category whereas 34 polling stations of C category.
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