ISLAMABAD: The police managed to arrest two persons who shot at a family in Jinnah Super last Wednesday and fled the scene. On Saturday, the interior minister suspended a policeman for failing to arrest the culprits and gave police a 24-hour deadline to trace and arrest the accused.

On Wednesday (March 25) a Toyota Surf intercepted a Suzuki Alto in Jinnah Super Market and those on board the Surf fired multiple shots in the air and then fled the scene.

A man, whose father owns a fast food stall in the market, his friend and mother, a professor at a government college, were travelling in the Alto.

The police were informed about the incident and while they reached the scene they failed to trace the Surf, the police said.

The family was asked by police to register a complaint but they refused and went home. The incident was recorded in the police logbook.

On March 28, the professor arrived at a police station to register a complaint with the police but an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) did not entertain the request to register a case, record the complaint in the daily diary or inform senior officials about the request.

On Saturday, the complainant informed the interior minister about the matter.

The interior minister reprimanded the police for their negligence and failure to register the case. The minister suspended two ASIs, the one who refused to register the case and the one who was present at the scene in Jinnah Super on March 25.

The minister gave police 24 hours to trace and arrest the accused. According to police, when they approached shopkeepers in Jinnah Super to share the CCTV footage from the day, they refused.

The shopkeepers also claimed ignorance about the identity of the accused.

Later, the police approached the Excise and Taxation Office of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and found out details of 300 registered Toyota Surfs. From the details of ownership, the accused were identified and arrested.

One of the accused is a resident of F-7/2 and a second lives in G-6. According to police, those arrested are well connected and are friends with children of senior police officers, politicians and former ministers.

The police said the accused frequent Jinnah Super market and a majority of shopkeepers are acquainted with them but have not revealed their identity out of fear of repercussions.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play