RAWALPINDI: The city police have booked a traders’ union representative of Bara Market and twelve others for obstructing traffic police staff from performing their duty, snatching wireless of one of them set and abusing them.

In another move, the police have launched a hunt for a runaway car driver who escaped after hitting a traffic warden at Car Chwok on Thursday.

The city traffic police’s encroachment squad had to face strong resistance from traders of Bara Market during an operation on Wednesday against encroachments and illegal parking which were disrupting the flow of traffic in the market.

In retaliation, the traffic police staff lodged a formal complaint with the City police against 13 people, including a traders’ union leader for manhandling the traffic staff who claimed that a wireless set was missing which could not be found.

Traders’ leader, 12 others booked for creating obstruction in police duties

According to the traffic police the incident happened when the traffic staff was clearing the road in Bara Market when they spotted two motorcycles wrongly parked causing problems in the flow of traffic and called their owners.

In response to the police, a man appeared there and started arguing with the traffic police staff. The man was asked to behave but he started abusing the police and pushing them away and also tore one of the policemen’s uniform.

Police spokesman said in a press release that during the operation, a trader in Bara Market behaved unethically with the traffic staff.

Meanwhile, Traffic Warden Taswar Hayat was seriously injured after being hit by a car at the Car Chowk area of Gulrez on Thursday.

Police spokesman said that the accident happened when the traffic warden tried to stop a vehicle with windows covered with tinted papers, the driver of the vehicle instead of stopping the vehicle hit the traffic warden and fled the scene.

Upon receiving the information about the incident, CPO Rawalpindi Syed Khalid Hamdani and Chief Traffic Officer Rawalpindi Beenish Fatima took notice and ordered for the arrest of the accused.

On this occasion, CTO Rawalpindi Beenish Fatima visited the injured traffic warden in Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

The police arrested the accused involved in the incident and initiated legal action against him.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2024