ISLAMABAD: The Lake view Park on Sunday witnessed an unprecedented mess after about 100 personnel of the Punjab police entered the facility without paying tickets and beat up the staff.

After arriving in the park, the policemen moved towards the aviary. When the staff deputed at the entrance of the aviary asked them to purchase tickets, the policemen refused. This led to a scuffle during which the policemen thrashed the employees of the aviary with kicks and fists.

“Around 100 Jawans of the Punjab police entered the park without paying entry ticket of Rs10 each. They later went into the aviary, being run by a private party, and refused the pay the entry ticket of Rs50 each,” said Abdul Hafeez, the security in-charge of the park.

He said after the scuffle when the police personnel tried to leave the area in their official bus, scores of park employees and some visitors stopped them and chanted slogans against the police.

But in the meanwhile, a team from the Secretariat police station reached the spot and settled the matter.

“When the matter was brought to my notice, I directed the officer concerned to probe the matter and take departmental action against the guilty personnel,” said the inspector general of police (IGP) Islamabad, Tahir Alam Khan, while talking to Dawn.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd , 2014