LAHORE: A dismissed police constable died and two others injured after a Dolphin Squad allegedly opened fire suspecting them to be robbers at Lakshmi Chowk here on Monday.

Initially, the police claimed to have killed a robber and injured another in an encounter but the situation later got clear when it appeared that they were not having any criminal record.

The incident sparked agitation among the relatives of the deceased who was later identified as Mohammad Shoaib, a resident of Shahdara, and his cousin Ghazanfar.

Another man who got injured in the firing was identified as Patras Masih. Both the injured were shifted to hospital.

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi took notice of the incident, called the IG police and directed him to hold an impartial investigation.

The Lahore capital city police officer assigned an inquiry to the SPs of Dolphin Squad and Civil Lines Division and directed them to submit a report at the earliest.

Sharing details of the incident, a police official said Shoaib and his cousin Ghazanfar came on a motorbike at the Lakshmi Chowk where they intercepted Patras Masih and held him hostage at gunpoint.

He said the motorcyclists had accused Patras of kidnapping their relative girl. They had also filed a complaint with the Naulakha police to lodge a case against him.

Meanwhile, both sides exchanged hot words and one of the motorcyclists opened fire and injured Patras, he said adding that on hearing gunfire a Dolphin Squad rushed to the spot.

As they witnessed two armed motorcyclists holding a gun and a man lying injured, one of the police personnel signalled them to stop the bike.

The police official claimed that the suspects opened fire on the squad and as soon as they returned the fire, both of them got bullet injuries.

Later, one of them died on the spot while the other injured seriously, he said adding that the Dolphin Squad initially reported to the police high-ups that ‘one robber was killed and his accomplice injured in police encounter’.

He said later inquiries confirmed that the motorcyclists had no criminal record and the relatives of the deceased person declared it criminal negligence on the part of Dolphin personnel.

To a question, the police official said Shoaib was a police constable and he had been dismissed from service following the allegations of misconduct proved against him in departmental inquiries.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2022