FAISALABAD: As many as 600 policemen were tasked with arresting the suspects involved in aerial firing following the district bar elections on Saturday, however no action has been taken yet.

People supporting winners of the elections had illegally fired in the air in jubilation despite the presence of police, who silently watched the entire spectacle unfold instead of arresting the suspects. Videos of the firing were also shared on social media.

The bar elections had been initially scheduled for Jan 9, however they were postponed on the directions of the Punjab Bar Council due to some technical faults in the biometric system. The elections were then fixed for Saturday.

Supporters of winning lawyers fire in jubilation; two cases registered with no arrests

As per the police record, four superintendents of police, eight deputy superintendents of police, seven inspectors, 40 sub-inspectors, 59 assistant sub-inspectors and over 500 other policemen had been deployed to maintain law and order during the elections. Special police reserves had also been kept on standby at the police lines to tackle any untoward situation. Elite and Dolphin forces were also tasked with patrolling around the polling stations, the record read.

The lawyers were categorically told that the display of weapons and aerial firing was banned.

After the firing, Kotwali police registered two cases. The first was registered on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Usman Ali, who said he received information that some people were involved in aerial firing on the rooftops of Allama Iqbal, Tanveer Randhawa and Iftikhar Law buildings. Taking advantage of the darkness, the suspects managed to escape, he added.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Muhammad Imtiaz Shafqat got the second case registered against unidentified people.

Both cases were registered under sections 148, 149, 337-H2 of the PPC and 11-B of Punjab Arms Amendment Ordinance 2015 within an hour of each other. Police were swift to register the cases, but not arrest any of the suspects.

A policeman said that with the registration of the two cases, police officials had exhibited their weaknesses, and poor system of monitoring and patrolling. Generally, police force was deployed after any major incident to preserve the crime scene and collect evidence. But it seemed the suspects in these cases were given a free hand to fire in the air again despite registration of one case against the act just an hour earlier.

An inquiry must be launched out of the district to ascertain as to why hundreds of policemen deployed for the bar elections failed to arrest any gun-toting people who pumped bullets into the air, he suggested.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2021