Cop taken into custody for fatally shooting flood victim

QUETTA:

Commissioner Naseerabad Division Bashir Ahmad Bangulzai on Friday said that the policeman, who opened fire and killed a flood victim on Thursday, has been arrested and an FIR has been lodged against him.

He was talking to journalists about the tragic incident. 

On Thursday, a policeman opened fire at a crowd gathered to get food packages being distributed by a non-governmental organization (NGO), sparking widespread criticism from the general public on social media.

The accused policeman fired to disperse the unruly crowd as the crowd was large and there were limited food packages, a senior police official said.

The accused will be punished according to the law and compensation will be provided to the heirs and children of the victim. Strict measures will be taken to prevent such tragic incidents in the future, Bangulzai said.

While talking about the rehabilitation of the flood affectees, he said that the rehabilitation work is going on rapidly and all of the concerned institutions played their due role. The administration is shifting the flood-affected people to their homes in all districts of the Naseerabad division, he said.

The administration is taking all possible steps to facilitate and increase the pace of rehabilitation work before the start of Balochistan's harsh winter.

He said that authorities had removed 70% of the stagnant water from the flooded areas.

The commissioner also criticized the NGOs and said that these orgainzations should take steps to help in the construction of houses for the flood victims instead of distributing food items.