![men walk past a burning police vehicle during clashes between the supporters of former pakistani prime minister imran khan and police in islamabad pakistan march 18 2023 reuters fayaz aziz men walk past a burning police vehicle during clashes between the supporters of former pakistani prime minister imran khan and police in islamabad pakistan march 18 2023 reuters fayaz aziz](https://i.tribune.com.pk/media/images/PTI1111679213987-0/PTI1111679213987-0.jpg)
Rawalpindi police arrested 76 more people for their alleged involvement in attacks, arson and vandalism on sensitive installations and government buildings including the General Head Quarters (GHQ) following riots that erupted after the arrest of Pakistan Tehreeke- Insaaf chief and former prime minister Imran Khan.
Addressing a press conference, City Police Officer (CPO) Khalid Mehmood Hamdani said that the Rawalpindi police have so far arrested 264 people in 17 separate cases whereas 708 cases were registered at the RA Bazaar Police Station for the attack on the GHQ and a total of 76 miscreants were arrested during the last 24 hours.
He said that a day earlier, 23 criminals were arrested whereas 198 criminals were apprehended in other cases.
He said that 27 perpetrators were separately booked for attacking sensitive installations.
He said that raids were under way to arrest more miscreants involved in the riots and vandalism with the help of video footage and human intelligence.
CPO Hamdani said that a high-level investigation team led by SSP investigation has been formed to probe cases like targeting the GHQ gate, Hamza Camp and metro bus stations, while separate teams have been formed at the divisions level to investigate other cases.
“The miscreants’ leaders and elements involved in inciting the miscreants will also be arrested and all legal requirements are being met to punish them,” he said.
Meanwhile, a special investigative team has been formed under SSP Investigation Zunaira Azfar to probe the arson at the GHQ gate, Hamza Camp and at metro bus stations.
For the investigation of other cases, separate teams have been formed at the division level.
Similarly, a team has been formed under SSP Operation Amir Khan Niazi to identify and arrest elements involved in other related cases with the help of videos and human intelligence.
The CPO Rawalpindi further said that around 90 accused who have already been sent to jail were also being investigated in these cases as per the law and based on evidence.
He said that 29 police officers and personnel including DSP Waris Khan police station Tahir Sikandar and SHO Ratta Amaral Muhammad Riaz were injured and around 20 police vehicles were damaged in the riots and arson.
He said that police installations in Rawalpindi remained safe.
The CPO Rawalpindi said that there was excellent coordination between intelligence agencies and police in Rawalpindi during the riots and when riots, vandalism and arson started at places including GHQ gate, Police responded promptly and controlled the situation and not only forced the miscreants to retreat but also cleared the area and took it under a security fence after which, the routine life and traffic returned to normal in Rawalpindi.
The CPO Rawalpindi said that people involved in vandalism, arson and vandalism will be arrested at all costs.
Raids are also being conducted to arrest the leaders of the miscreants, he said.
The CPO Rawalpindi said that all legal requirements will be fulfilled to punish the miscreants involved in vandalism and riots.
SDPO Cantt, SDPO City as well as the SHOs of RA Bazaar, Westridge, and Civil Lines police stations and the In-charge of the Investigation Support Unit would be part of the committee which would assist in the investigation of the case through technical and human intelligence sources.
The investigation team would probe the incident in light of the cases and submit a report.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ