TAXILA: City Police officer (CPO) Rawalpindi Syed Khalid Hamdani on Sunday showed the door to Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Imtiaz Nasir for trashing and abusing an old woman in a court complex in Taxila on Saturday.

The video of the incident went viral on social media in which the policeman was seen slapping and misbehaving with the woman.

The police team then dragged the woman and her children into a van and shifted them to the police station.

The video of the policeman’s behaviour received backlash from the public.

Subsequently CPO Syed Khalid Hamdani took notice of the incident and suspended him from service and ordered an inquiry against the cop.

After summary proceedings were carried out by SP Potohar division against the policeman, the CPO ordered the dismissal of the policeman from service.

According to the police spokesperson, misuse of power by police officials and officers would not be tolerated and assured citizens that any misbehaviour by police teams would be dealt with severely.

Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister nominee Maryam Nawaz took notice of police violence on the elderly woman in Taxila. Sources said she contacted caretaker chief minister Mohsin Naqvi and requested him to take immediate action.

In a statement, she expressed grief over police torture of the elderly woman.

“Due to the Punjab assembly session, I have just received information about this incident, which is very sad,” she said in a statement, adding that “this kind of police brutality will not be tolerated under any circumstances”.

Meanwhile, New Airport police of Attock arrested a proclaimed offender wanted in different robberies.

Station house officer Sub Inspector Tahir Iqbal said the suspect identified as Abdullah alias Hamza, a native of Swabi, was involved in many robberies in different parts of the area. As he had gone underground, he was declared a proclaimed offender by court.

Mr Iqbal said after a raid at his hideout, police arrested the suspect.

In another incident, a couple was thrashed over a children’s quarrel in Qutbal town in the limits of Fatehjang police.

Tariq Mehmood reported to the police that some children had beaten his son while playing in the street. When he along with his wife went to Lal Zaman to complain about the incident, Zaman along with his son and other family members beat them with sticks and rods and injured them.

The injured were shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in critical condition. Police arrested three nominated persons in the case and launched a haunt to arrest the others.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2024