NOWSHERA: The under-training policemen continued their protest on the second consecutive day on Friday against the alleged killing of their two colleagues during a tough training session at the Joint Elite Police Training Centre at Hakimabad here.

An official requesting anonymity told Dawn that about 600 fellow policemen getting training in the newly-established facility avoided taking part in the routine exercises in protest against the sudden death of their two colleagues. They protested against the harsh attitude of the instructors and other officials concerned towards the under-training policemen and demanded an inquiry into the death of their colleagues.

Sources said that the two cops, each hailing from the Lower Dir and Upper Dir, died on Wednesday during the training session owing to negligence of the instructors and for not receiving timely treatment. About 30 to 40 trainees fainted during the same training and were admitted to the district headquarters hospital, Nowshera, on Thursday.

The angry trainee police cops beat up an instructor who fell unconscious and was taken to the hospital on Thursday. The other instructors reportedly escaped the wrath of the enraged policemen and did not return to the centre till Friday.

The protesting trainees and their families have been demanding an inquiry into the matter. When contacted, district police officer Rabnawaz Khan told Dawn that the matter was resolved amicably and the strike had ended. He, however, admitted that the instructors had yet to attend the facility.

In Peshawar, a police statement said that KP police chief Nasir Khan Durrani had taken a serious notice of the incident wherein two trainees Hidayatullah and Sirajul Haq died of heatstroke at the training centre in Nowshera.

It said that IGP had constituted a committee comprising AIG Special Branch and regional police officer, Mardan, to probe into the death of the constables.

It said that the two constables were provided the first aid on the spot and later shifted to DHQ hospital, Nowshera, where doctors said that the two had suffered heatstroke. Later, they were shifted to Mardan Medical Complex where both died.

In Timergara, people from various areas of Talash valley on Friday held a protest demonstration against the alleged killing of trainee constable Hidayatullah in Nowshera.

Led by elders of the Talash Dushkhel Qaumi Jirga, the protesters blocked the Chakdara-Timergara road for over an hour and chanted slogans against the authorities of police department. They demanded of the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take a suo motu notice of the incident.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2015

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