A former police official, accused of impersonation, grabbed a policeman's pistol and shot himself inside Rawalpindi's Civil Lines police station while under custody.
A spokesperson for the department said the incident prompted City Police Officer (CPO) Khalid Hamdani to take immediate notice, suspending the officer responsible for negligence and ordering an inquiry by the senior superintendent of police (SSP) operations.
A case has also been registered regarding the incident.
According to the official, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Mazhar Qayyum reported that a man had been threatening people on Jhanda Road, claiming to be a police officer.
Upon arriving at the scene, the suspect identified himself as Ali and introduced himself as a constable in the Punjab Police Special Wing.
He pointed towards a handcuff attached to his unregistered motorcycle and claimed he was on a special mission.
When asked for verification of his posting, he failed to provide a satisfactory response and presented a service card that lacked a constabulary number.
Out of suspicion, the police took him to the police station for further investigation and placed him under the supervision of Constable Faizan while ASI Qayyum checked his records at the front desk, the spokesperson said.
The records revealed that Ali Raza had a criminal history, with a drug-related case registered against him at an Anti-Narcotics police station, leading to his dismissal from the police force.
As ASI Qayyum reviewed the records, gunshots and screams echoed from the interrogation room.
Upon rushing back, officers found Ali Raza bleeding from a gunshot wound in his leg.
Constable Faizan, who had been assigned to guard him, admitted that he had dozed off momentarily due to drowsiness, during which the suspect snatched his pistol and shot himself.
A search of his belongings led to the discovery of 20 grams of heroin in his wallet, the spokesperson said.
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