KHYBER: The police in Bara on Wednesday tendered an apology over the cops’ misbehaviour with a local woman when they conducted a raid on her house to arrest a suspect for his alleged affiliation with militant groups.

Sources said that the police raided a house in Sipah area at night to arrest Rahmatullah for his alleged involvement in some sabotage acts in Bara in the recent past.

They said the police thrashed and injured the mother of the accused when she tried to resist her son’s arrest. The incident caused furor among local residents when it was posted on social media.

Scores of agitated tribesmen then converged at Khyber Chowk in Bara Bazaar on Wednesday morning and blocked the main road in protest, demanding an investigation into the alleged police misbehaviour with the tribeswoman.

MPA-elect Abdul Ghani, who led the demonstration, threatened to continue blockade of the road if the police failed to comply with their ‘just’ demands.

The protesters also demanded that the arrested person be produced before court instead of keeping him in an undisclosed location.

The protest continued for over six hours and later was called off when the police apologised with the affected woman, and presented two sheep to her family as per the tribal tradition and also promised to register an FIR against the cops involved in the incident.

Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen killed a non-local in Bara on Wednesday. Police said the incident took place in Alangudar area where gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on Mohammad Arshad, killing him on the spot.

The deceased hailed from Sialkot, and the reason behind his killing could not be immediately ascertained. Police, however, registered a case against the unknown assailants and started investigations.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2024