The Untouchables: Traffic police official ‘abducted’, released ‘within minutes’

ISLAMABAD:

When it is their paiti bhai (colleague) in trouble, the police are the first to arrive, and the offender mostly ends up in jail, whoever he/she may be.

This was the case on Thursday when men in blue rushed to rescue their colleague from the wrath of an infuriated van driver.

Sub Inspector Manzoor Ahmed of Islamabad Traffic Police stopped a van on the GT Road near Jhangi Syedan.

“The driver, Abdul Wahab, failed to produce a valid route permit,” said an investigation officer from the Tarnol police, quoting Ahmed. The driver and his helper got into a verbal brawl with the cop after he decided to issue a violation ticket, he added. The two men, joined by some more drivers, started thrashing Ahmed after he refused to back down, police said, before putting him in a vehicle and taking him to a place where they kept him locked up.

Ahmed, however, managed to inform his control room. A police official said the sub inspector had to ‘wait’ only for a few minutes before help arrived.

The driver and his helper were arrested, charged with resisting legal action, manhandling a police official and keeping him detained, and sent to jail on judicial remand. Ahmed could not be contacted as his phone was switched off.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2012.