TAXILA: Another woman officer of Punjab police saved a blasphemy suspect from being lynched by charged protesters in Wah city, it emerged on Sunday.

Last month, a woman assistant superintendant of police (ASP) averted a similar incident in Ichra area of Lahore by saving a girl from an angry mob for wearing a dress with Arabic words printed on it.

Police in Taxila said a man attempted to burn the holy Quran at the commercial hub of Wah on March 13. Passersby overpowered the suspect and recovered a lighter from his possession. The angry people then started beating him. After getting information, a police team reached the scene and took the suspect into custody and shifted him to the nearby Lalarukh police post.

As news spread in the area, scores of charged people gathered outside the police post and started chanting slogans and demanding the police to hand over the suspect to them. The mob was about to break into the police premises when Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kainat Azhar Khan brought Sub-Inspector (SI) Raja Gultaj to the front to negotiate with the protesters.

In the meantime, ASP Kainat met religious leaders and brought them to the negotiation table and addressed their concerns.

They were convinced to adopt a legal course against the suspect. Later, a first investigation report (FIR) was registered against the suspect after consultation with a legal team of various religious groups. The protesters then dispersed peacefully.

For successfully handling the incident, the higher authorities of the police department awarded a special certificate to ASP Kainat and her team. The certificates were handed over to the team at a ceremony held at the office of the SSP operations retired Flt Lt Kamran Asghar.

ASP Kainat from Quetta passed the CSS exam in 2018. Currently, she is serving as the subdivisional police officer Taxila. Earlier, she served in Taunsa Sharif, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. She is also the focal person of the Rawalpindi police on its first animal rescue centre established this year.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2024