SIALKOT: District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Ghaffar Qaisarani has suspended from service Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tariq Mehmood of Qila Kalarwala police for allegedly dragging three women out of their house with their hair and torturing them for not producing a wanted proclaimed offender (PO) to police.

CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Amjad Javed Saleemi had taken notice of it.

A police team from Qila Kalarwala police station in Pasrur tehsil, led by the suspected ASI, raided a house in Dheera Sandha village to arrest the PO, but was unable to find him. The team forced their entry into the house and dragged out three women of a family from their hair, beating and abusing them, while the entire incident was captured by CCTV cameras.

Crimes Investigation Agency Deputy Superintendent of Police Sheikh Shahid Ikram conducted an inquiry and found the suspected police team guilty. The DPO also ordered strict departmental action against the suspended ASI.

HOUSING PROJECT: Provincial Minister for Auqaf Syed Saeedul Hassan Shah has said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme was yielding encouraging results in the province, adding that the project would soon be launched in other provinces.

He claimed that the project was receiving a very positive response from the masses.

Addressing party workers here on Sunday, the minister said that the construction of houses would be ensured as per local culture of all provinces on the available state land, which would also reduce the cost of construction. The Punjab government had so far included one million kanals of state land in the ‘land bank’ across Punjab for the scheme.

He further said that the government would start construction of the houses in Lodhran, Chishtian and Okara during this year.

SECURITY: The RPO also visited the site of the proposed Kartarpur Corridor on Sunday and reviewed security measures ahead of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to perform the groundbreaking ceremony of the corridor on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2018