Imambargah blast: Police register FIR, round up 12 suspects

Rawalpindi’s acting CPO says police are conducting search operations and have increased security

RAWALPINDI:

Police on Saturday registered an FIR against unknown assailants and rounded up a dozen suspects in connection with Friday’s bomb attack at an Imambargah in Rawalpindi which left five people, including a police constable, dead and 18 others injured.

Rawalpindi’s Regional Police Officer Akhtar Umar Hayat Lalika also constituted a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe into the incident, which took place while an Eid Miladun Nabi (SAW) gathering was under way at the Imambargah.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Rawalpindi’s acting CPO Haroon Joya said police were conducting search operations and had increased security.

“We cannot ignore any leads as it was basically a residence cum Imambargah, where the blast took place.  Personal enmity cannot be ruled out completely though such incidents usually have sectarian roots,” he said.

He said Aun Rizvi, the brother of Ibne Rizvi, the guardian of the imambargah, was assassinated in 1999 in a sectarian attack and the incident might be an attempt to target specifically Ibne Rizvi and his family.

“However, It would be too earlier to say anything now,” he said, confirming that the blast was caused by bomb planted near Imambargah.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2015.