ISLAMABAD: A student of 10th grade was injured in an armed attack allegedly carried out by police following a robbery in Jhangi Syedan.

On the other hand, the police, in a statement, said the area was under high alert following information that three suspects were on the run after snatching valuables from a citizen at gunpoint.

Talking to Dawn, Mohammad Kamran said his son, Huzaifa, and his two friends, Hayder and Jaral, were on their way home when four policemen opened fire at them out of nowhere.

He said his son managed to call from his mobile phone and informed him about the incident, but before he could finish the call, his phone was snatched by one of the policemen. He said he reached the spot within minutes and found his son lying on the roadside. His friends had been shifted to Noon police station.

He said he then took his son to the hospital for medical assistance. In the meantime, senior police officers also reached the spot. Mr Kamran further said that they then went to the police station and got the two boys released.

He claimed that the senior police officers were asking him to settle the matter and nominate just one policeman instead of the four in the complaint.

Meanwhile, a police spokesperson said a case had been registered against the four policemen under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

Replying to a question about pressuring the complainant and asking him to settle the issue, the spokesperson said he had no information about it.

In a statement, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Ahsan Younas said the capital police believed in self accountability and had directed Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Faisal Kamran to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

A boy with a yellow bag on his shoulders fled after seeing the officers coming towards him while the cops fired two bullets to stop him, he said.

Later on, it was revealed during investigation that the three boys were returning home after attending classes in an academy.

He said it was mentioned in the inquiry report that the four officials violated standard operating procedures (SOPs) and committed an error of judgement, adding that the case would be resolved on merit..

The IG along with DIG Operations Awais Ahmed and SSP Operations Mohammad Faisal Kamran paid a visit to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and inquired after the health of the injured student. They met with the family and apologised to them for this unfortunate incident.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2022